Page 538 - Basic Japanese

APPENDIX I

Other Styles of Speech

1. The impersonal style

In lectures, radio announcements, and the like, Japanese often
use the impersonal style, which is also encountered in books

and articles. Here are the principal ways in which this style
differs from the usual polite style of speech:

i. Polite forms are not used. Instead, the plain forms are
used even at the end of sentences. Sometimes,

however, a Japanese person will end his explanatory
sentences with …no de arimasu instead of …no de aru ‘it is a
fact that…’ Here are some examples:

Meaning Polite Impersonal

He was born in 1990-nen ni 1990-nen ni
1990. umaremashita. umareta.

There is no
explanation. Setsumei Setsumei wa

wa nai.

arimasen.