Collusion

This did not happen to me, but to the friend that I'm staying with in
rural Japan:

My friend was invited to dine with a local family the other night.
The family consists of the mother, whom my friend knows from a local
shop, the father, who is a local factory owner, and the daughter,
approximately 28, who does some managerial work in their factory.

As the meal was winding down, the business man showed my friend some
photos of him with the prefecturial governor. Being polite, my friend
showed interest; the father was obviously proud of his status in the
community. My friend related to him that she had met the
vice-governor at a function through her teaching program.

He got very excited: he too knew the vice governor! In fact, he was
having a meeting with him in the coming week. He produced the list of
meeting attendees: local business people on one side, politicos on the
other. He was second among the business people, and the vice-governor
first amongst the politicians. My friend asked what the meeting was
about, but didn't understand the subsequent explanation in Japanese.

Friend: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Businessman: Hmm... let me see here.
- Uses electronic dictionary -
B: [Says a word, but my friend is unable to understand]! The meeting is for [that word].
F: Excuse me?
B: Here. See?

At this point, the business man shows my friend the entry in the
dictionary. The purpose of the meeting, as translated by the
dictionary: collusion and back-scratching.

It's good to know that politics transcends national and cultural barriers