One of the benefits of living in a Japanese city is the transportation network. A wide range of people use trains, subways and buses to get where they’re going, and you’ll often find 優先席 (测ū蝉别苍蝉别办颈, priority seats) in the general seating area.
Recently, ジョージア大使のツイートが話題になりました (Jōjia taishi no tsuīto ga wadai ni narimashita, a tweet by the Georgian ambassador to Japan became a hot topic). Teimuraz Lezhava , which drew a lot of “hey, he’s like us!” comments in response — 「大使も電車に乗るんですね」（Taishi mo densha ni noru-n desu ne, Even the ambassador rides the train), wrote one follower.
It’s not the internet without some criticism, though, as people began pointing out where he was seated: 「そこは優先席ですから座ってはいけません」 (Soko wa 测ū蝉别苍蝉别办颈 desu kara suwatte wa ikemasen, That’s a priority seat, so he shouldn’t sit there) said one, 「優先席は空けておくべきです」 (Yūsenseki wa akete-oku beki desu, Priority seats should be left open), said another. This prompted a debate in the ambassador’s thread as people began responding to the critiques, saying, 「空いていれば座ればいいし、乗ってきたら譲ればいい」 (Aite-ireba suwareba ii shi notte-kitara yuzureba ii, If it’s available, then you can sit down, if [someone who needs the seat] comes aboard, then you give up the seat).
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