I'm not sure if emeigh1wm was replying to jolazaridis or not, but if not does anyone know the answer to this question? I'm kind of curious about this because I've hugged my relatives in public when I've met them in public, and they were kind of the ones that initiated it.

It could be that they were just appealing to my father and I, who are Australians, or perhaps there's different etiquette in Nagoya.

My intuition (I'm a quarter Japanese, lol) tells me that it's mostly the hugging between two people in a relationship (or young-middle aged people opposite in gender).

Sounds unusual..

What about the free hugs on Harajuku???? Everyone thinks they are nice, right?

i guess it's just the same with other countries.
hugging and kissing in public is kinda rude, kissing is way worse than hugging. that's it basically.
it's the same in germany, too.

Nope. It isn't.

I have Japanese friends that I do hug when meeting outside Japan but don't when we meet in Japan. In my native Canada, you're hugging a friend, nobody cares. In Japan, Dame!

It's not about lack of affection but about keeping a certain sense of decorum. I wouldn't want to embarrass my friends.