The Japanese greet each other by bowing. The bow can be a small nod of the head, or a more elaborate bending from the waist. If your opposite is of 
higher social status than yourself, you are supposed to bow deeper and longer than him or her!However, nowadays the Japanese do shake hands too. The handshake is usually followed by a bow. Did you know that Japanese people sometimes bow toward the person whom they are talking to on the phone? Though they can’t actually see the person whom they are talking to, they tend to bow in order to show respect.Different bows are used for apologies and gratitude, to express different emotions like humility, sincerity, remorse, or deference, and in various traditional arts and religious ceremonies. Generally speaking, an inferior bows longer and more deeply, and more frequently, than a superior.
