I’ve known several non-quite-placebo close buttons in Europe, so I wouldn’t put it past the Japanese, either.
Not sure. In Austrian elevator etiquette, if I had already pressed the close button, it would be my responsibility to mash the open button again if I notice someone hurrying towards the elevator.
American elevator etiquette: turn to face the door.
Before my first visit to New York, I had thought that “turning to face the door” is only done in movies and TV shows, because that’s where the camera is.
Here in Austria the universal rule used to be to keep facing as many of the other people as possible - turning your back to them at such a short distance would be impolite. The same used to be true when passing people seated in a theater row: shoving my ass into people’s faces would be unacceptable. Both rules have become less pronounced with modern-day globalization of culture, but they’re still there.
