"Please Refrain From..." and Other Indirect Instructions
What kind of rule is this?
This is context-dependent by design — the whole point of this page is that the same polite, indirect phrasing is used for law, official rules, venue policy, and simple etiquette alike. No official citation applies here; this is about reading a communication pattern, not one documented policy.
What the rule says
Japanese public signage and announcements very often use soft, indirect phrasing — 'go enryo kudasai' (please refrain from), 'gomeiwaku ni naranai you ni' (so as not to cause trouble to others) — for instructions ranging from genuinely illegal acts to simple house preferences. The politeness level of the phrasing does not scale with how serious or enforceable the underlying rule is.
What people often misunderstand
Non-native readers often either over-read these phrases as strict prohibitions with real penalties, or under-read them as optional suggestions because the wording sounds gentle. Both misreadings are common, and the actual answer depends entirely on where the sign is, who posted it, and what it's about — not on the wording itself.
What it means in practice
Use context to judge weight: a 'please refrain' sign about smoking on a station platform is almost certainly backed by an operator rule (or local law) with real consequences; the same phrasing about eating strong-smelling food on a bus is much closer to a social request. When unsure, err toward compliance — the cost of following an unnecessary soft request is much lower than the cost of ignoring a real one.
Safest response
Treat 'please refrain' language as a genuine instruction until you have a specific reason to think otherwise, and look for a category (like the ones on this page) rather than guessing from tone alone.
If someone corrects you
If you're stopped for not following a 'please refrain' instruction, don't argue that the wording 'sounded optional' — apologize, comply immediately, and treat it as a real instruction regardless of how it was phrased.
Official sources
No single official source applies here — this page reflects a widely observed social or communication pattern, not a documented law or policy.
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