politeness - Address someone by their first name, or their last name?

When addressing John Doe, would you say "John-さん", or "Doe-さん"?

Does it depend on how polite or formal you're being? Does it also depend on whether the person is a nihonjin, a kankokujin (who have their family name first, not last), or a westerner?

Answer

In general, Japanese people will address people by their last name if they are anything but good friends.

So that would be the tendency would be Doeさん.

However when it comes to western people 2 things come into play.

1) Your name might be difficult to say.

2) They might know our custom is to use first names more often.

When I was in Japan and dealing with people I would see fairly often, they would generally ask me what I wanted to be called. I always said my first name because that is how I see myself and because my last name is impossible for Japanese people say correctly.