Pets saying sorry for their bad deeds is also a fun way to learn Japanese.

With Japanese society so heavily focused on the harmony of the group rather than the individual, letting the team down is a transgression that requires a serious apology.

There are many levels of apology in Japan, a country well-known for its apology culture, and somewhere at the top of the ladder in terms of seriousness is a public apology in front of the press, known as “shazai kaiken“, or “apology press conference“.

The shazai kaiken has a distinct look to it, often consisting of microphones, name plates, and a table covered in white cloth. Behind the table are one or more individuals, who stand at the end of the press conference and give such a deep bow it’s like they’re trying to give us a full view of the tops of their heads.

These types of apologies are often utilised by companies or public figures to atone for their wrongdoings, but now, thanks to a new gacha capsule toy series from Gashapon, we get to see what it would look like if cats and dogs were apologising for their naughty behaviours.

Called the Animal Press Conference, there are a total of six sorry animals to collect in the series. Some of the pets include a naughty miniature dachshund, who, according to the sign on its stand, is apologising for “hakai koui“, which translates to “act of destruction“.

We’ve seen enough naughty pup videos on the Internet to guess this dachshund’s act of destruction may have involved ripping things to shreds and leaving them scattered around the house for their owner…or perhaps it was just the good ol’ act of eating someone’s homework.

There’s also a remorseful-looking Shiba Inu, who is apologising for “fumitsuke“, known in English as the act of “trampling“.

This naughty Shiba is probably in the doghouse for trampling on its owner who was trying to have a sleep-in. Shame on you!

Next up is a naughty Pug. What did you do, you cheeky animal???

▼ “Tsumamigui“

“Tsumamigui” is the act of secret eating, and we all know how our furry companions would guzzle through a whole bag of pet biscuits if we gave them half a chance. Eating without your human’s permission is a misdemeanour that deserves a press conference-level of apology!

▼ “I sincerely apologise for my indiscretion”. 

We’ve got to hand it to dogs, though, as they do know how to work those puppy eyes and look sincerely sorry when they’ve done something wrong. Cats, on the other hand…well, they’re a different beast, so it’s unusual to see them looking apologetic for any of their bad behaviours.

▼ “Yes, okay, I may have ripped your 壁紙 (“kabe gami” / wallpaper), but what was it doing there in the first place?!”

There are two more apologising cats in the lineup — a white one, who is attempting to make amends for “Tissues” and a black cat, who’s regretting its behaviour with “Shoji“. As we’ve seen in the past, cats and shoji (traditional sliding paper doors) are mortal foes that should never be left alone in a room together.

Each capsule toy is priced at 300 yen (US$2.60) each, and if you buy more than one, you can line the animals up next to each other for a very unusual apology press conference.

We can almost hear them shouting “誠に申し訳ございませんでした” (“makoto ni moushiwake gozaimasen deshita”/ “we are truly sorry”), just like the hoomans do when they’re giving a public press conference apology.

The range was just released in the first week of February, and the buzz surrounding them suggests they’re well-poised to be as popular as these bowing cats released in December.

If they’re anywhere near as popular as the gacha range featuring Godzilla and its fellow kaiju apologising, press conference-style, then you might want to buy all these pets, because the Godzilla collection is so sought after it now sells for hundreds of dollars online!

Related: Gashapon World
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[ Read in Japanese ]