Asking out a co-worker

Be friends with him first until you can discuss comfortably his relationship status(like personal talks and not in groups). Not knowing if he's really single or not could pose a problem. A lot of guys lie about this kind of thing. Be careful as everyone said, this may affect your career life. And ask yourself is the guy worth the risk? :/ Then again, you could always transfer companies if it gets really really bad. Goodluck. Also, since he is your senpai at work people might get the wrong idea and talk behind your back if you start going out.

@Darku: That's definitely true. When I see this in the long run, chances are that going out with him might screw me over. Thanks for your inputs, guys. I'm leaning towards not asking him out, mostly because of the job. But any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

@jineko: The thing is we're mostly working, and we're not getting paid to just talk to each other about our personal lives. And I don't think transferring companies is an easy thing to do xDD Hm...talk behind my back, maybe? I hope it's not highschool all over again lol. Thanks for your advice though! I don't think I'd want to risk my career life, and that's something that's better off for me than a relationship.

@cielle: well there are other means to talk outside work like on facebook or skype or text maybe? If you're really up to it. If not, friendship outside your professional environment wouldn't hurt. :) little things that when you do everyday might blossom into something more. But I agree that career is more important than a relationship gamble XD

It's not uncommon for coworkers to get hitched with each other; once you start working, the topics and concerns you'll talk about are different than when you were in college/high school. The key thing however is that your senpai is Japanese. The typical Japanese work/social culture goes something like this: maintain harmony and stability in human relationships at all costs instead of risking breaking it off. In the US, ex-boyfriends/girlfriends can still remain on cordial terms. In Japan however, it can get quite...awkward. This is especially compounded if you work in the same industry (which means you'll be hearing/bumping into each other sometimes) or work place (even worse, you'll see him more frequently than you think). The traditional Japanese tends to be very, very subtle when it comes to finding his/her significant others; they won't ever say what's truly on their minds straight away or if they dislike you. At most, they maintain a far distance with a smile. It takes a while for them to actually see you as who you are rather than an English conversation partner/foreigner with unique experiences. If you are serious about the relationship, I would at least attempt to 1) learn their language starting from hiragana, 2) read up their culture/news (Asahi Shimbun has an English edition) and 3) be very prepared to invest a lot of time and effort while keeping in mind that it may not work out (Japanese culture and society is fundamentally insular and even if you are proficient in Japanese and well-read in Japanese news/culture/societal hierachy, you'll still be seen as a foreigner)

@meister: First of all, I'm pretty well-versed in Japanese culture and the language (I majored in both Jpnese and Business-econ). 2nd, although this is a Japanese company in the US, my senpai is not Japanese. 3rd, I've been around with enough Japanese people in my life to already grasp a basic understanding of Far East Asian mentality. I know you mean well, but this is one of the most half-assed responses I could've got, especially for you to assume that I don't know any Japanese, when I obviously work in a Japanese company.

^ Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool Do you. Feel. The burn