滅私奉公

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 滅私奉公, read めっしほうこう, means putting private interests aside to serve a public purpose.
• Basic usage: It describes placing an organization or community ahead of one's own circumstances or interests.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Strength of the expression
  • It suggests self-sacrificing devotion more strongly than ordinary help.
• Evaluation in context
  • In the first example, an organization presents selfless service as an ideal.
  • In the second, the one-sided expectation of such devotion is questioned.