Past research on culture and emotion has shown cultural variations in the saliency of emotions. Emotions related to social harmony, such as indebtedness, are prevalent in Japanese culture; whereas, emotions related to achieving personal goals, such as self-liking, are prevalent in North American cultures. This current research builds on past research and examines whether European Canadian and Japanese young adults differ in their emotional reactions to seeking help from close same-sex friends. In particular, I expected and found that European Canadians’ self-liking and Japanese’ indebtedness toward friends were associated with their expected intimacy in the friendship. Furthermore, for both Japanese and European Canadians, the effect of emotional reactions was mediated by their perception of specific help-seeking behaviours to be common in a friendship. Implications for the intersubjective approach to culture and intercultural friendships are discussed.