In
Japanese it is
keigo.
Japanese culture has distinct borders of who is
above and
below you. Above include your
teachers, your
employers and people who are
older than you. Not only must you
raise the person who is above you, but you must
lower yourself. Speaking about yourself using honorific sounds like an
inflated ego and leads to disaster (trust me, i know).
Keigo is becoming less common in the classroom because teachers are trying to foster a comfortable friendship type of relationship with their students. This is similar to the trend away from calling teachers vous in French Canada.