Why do the Japanese refer to themselves with their family names in public? When is it okay to call them by their first names?

Question

Why do the Japanese refer to themselves with their family names in public? When is it okay to call them by their first names?

In: Culture

Answer 1

Only if you’re very close to them is it okay to call then by their first name. It’s an intimacy thing, while adding -san, -kun, -chan, -sama, -dono to their names is a respect thing.

If someone’s name is Bob Bobbins, you’d call then Bobbins-san if you don’t know them. If someone is a higher rank than you (leaders etc), you add -sama to their name. If you’re both of the same rank in a formal situation, you go with -dono. If someone is your junior, you go with -kun. If it’s a kid, -chan is apropriate. If you’re bedfellows you’d probably drop all that and go straight for Bob.

I might be wrong on this since I’m just a semi-weeb, but I hope it helps.