Ushikawa Doesn't Want to Scare You...

If you believe Haruki Murakami, Japan has the politest thugs. Here is Ushikawa in The Wind-up Bird Chronicles, trying to enlist the cooperation of Mr. Okada:

This is just between you and me, Mr. Okada, but I have to confess I really admire you. No flattery intended. This may sound odd, but you're basically a really ordinary guy. Or to put it even more bluntly, there's absolutely nothing special about you. Sorry about that, but don't take it to the wrong way. It's true, though, in terms of how you fit into society. Meeting you face-to-face and talking with you like this, though, I'm very, very impressed with you--with how you handle yourself. ... I like guys like you, Mr. Okada, who've done it all on their own. ...

You can't keep it up forever, though. You're going to burn out sooner or later. Everybody does. It's the way people are. In terms of evolutionary history, it was only yesterday that men learned to walk around on two legs and get into trouble thinking complicated thoughts. So don't worry, you'll burn out. Especially in the world that you're trying to deal with; everybody burns out. There are too many tricky things going on in it, too many ways of getting into trouble. It's a world made of tricky things. ... I used to do risky stuff for a living. If I had kept it up, I'd be in jail now--or dead. No kidding. ... ... So these little eyes of mine have seen a hell of a lot. Everybody burns out in this world; amateur, pro, it doesn't matter, they all burn out, they all get hurt, the Ok guys and the not-OK guys both. That's why everybody takes out a little insurance. I've got some too, here at the bottom of the heap. That way, you manage to survive if you burn out. If you're all by yourself and don't belong anywhere, you go down once, and you're out. Finished.

Maybe I shouldn't say this to you, Mr. Okada, but you're ready to go down. It's a sure thing. It says so in my book, in big, black letters about two or three pages ahead: 'TORU OKADA READY TO FALL.' It's true. I'm not trying to scare you. I'm a whole lot more accurate in this world than weather forecasts on TV. So all I want to tell you is this: There's a time when things are right for pulling out. ...

So let's stop feeling each other out, Mr. Okada, and get down to business. ... Which brings us to the end of a very long introduction, so now I can make you the offer I came here to make. ...

--Haruki Murakami, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle 453-4 (Jay Rubin Trans. 1997)