ABSTRACT
There is a dark spirit plaguing the Japanese university classroom. It is the ghost of opinions suppressed, voices lost, self-expressions discouraged, and individuality restrained. This ghost is malevolent, and in its vengeance demands silence, self-censorship, and indifference from the students it haunts. This specter often masks itself as "shyness," "modesty," "humility," or some other "unique" cultural trait, perhaps ancient in origins. that only Japanese possess. But such disguises hide the baneful nature of this ghost.
