The Great Geek Manual

Ojigi is the custom of bowing in social situations in Japanese society. Even as akushu (shaking hands) becomes increasingly popular throughout Japan, ojigi remains an intractable and essential part of Japanese daily life. People perform some form of ojigi to apologize, to bid guests farewell, to express gratitude, to greet others, or even to introduce themselves.

According to various sources, most Japanese don’t actually expect gaijin to return bows, but most consider it rude for foreigners not to at least acknowledge such courtesies with a nod.

The following video lightheartedly demonstrates the most common forms of ojigi used to apologize, but keep in mind that if you’re actually using this video as a hard reference, the actor’s facial expressions are meant to be comical and that women cross there arms in front of themselves, rather than placing their hands at their sides, palms facing inward during shallow bows.

This video is a bit more realistic demonstration for business etiquette.

If you want to read more about ojigi, there’s an interesting article at the APM Forums on the role of etiquette in conducting business in Japan.