Meeting people and the psyche involved

I have a good friend who was born and raised in Gibraltar. We worked together in Japan teaching English at a reputable company for about 6 months. We exchanged many thoughts and shared lots of good times. We've been friends for over 2 years now.

It was only a few days ago that I found out that he works in the same profession as I do. That was a huge surprise for me. Now I look back at the time we worked together and thought about all of the other co-workers. I wonder what all of them did before they taught English? The "professional" atmosphere covered up the fact that none of these guys chose Teaching English as a major or course of study. Its almost as if everyone was working incognito keeping their true profession hidden.

The fact that I didn't know my friends profession struck my partner as unusually odd. In Japan, if you don't know what another person's job is, then you don't know that person very well at all.

Listed in order, here are the usual things you will get asked when meeting a person from Japan:

(1) Where do you come from?
(2) What is your job?
(3) What is your hobby?

Common things that follow are:

(4) What is your blood type?
(5) Why are you in Japan?
(6) What is your name?

Of course, "(1) Where do you come from?" would be a general question of interest in any society. However, the questions that follow are quite 'tailored' for this country.

A lot of variables are included in a Japanese first time meeting. Most people here don't know what they want from life but they know they have to work hard. This stems largely from the country's industrious and militaristic history. Because it is so important to work and save, questions (2) and (3) are the best things to share knowledge of. Keep in mind also that many people are just 'sizing you up'. Question (4) gives the asker a clue as to what type of personality you have. Question (5) re-inforces question (4) and also reveals if you are an 'easy catch'. If you answer those questions interestingly enough then you'll be awarded with question (6).

On a note, the general population here are hard workers and time is short so most people are living the meme that every decision must be made carefully. Time is of the essence so lateness and procrastination is not tolerated, even amongst friends.