self-effacement

ROGER PULVERS氏がThe Japan Timesに毎週書いているコラムCOUNTERPOINTのJan. 22のタイトルは "Self-effacement is a fine thing, but does Japanese culture take it too far?" となっていました。
"Self-effacement" の "effacement" は見覚えのある単語ですが、その意味が直ぐに頭に浮かんできません。　取りあえず、記事を全文読んでみます。次に引用する二つの段落で "effacement"/"Self-effacement" の意味が分かりました。
I was in Australia in February 2011 when a huge earthquake rocked the New Zealand city of Christchurch. Australian television gave extensive coverage to the disaster, and I watched as survivors vied with each other to get water when it was given out.

In contrast, Japanese who had been displaced by disaster a month later were not seen reaching out - let alone rushing ahead of others. Their innate self-denial and self-effacement, along with their sense of community - both reinforced by the disaster - prevented them from doing so.
ここで一応 "self-effacement" を辞書で確認します。
・Cambridge Dictionaries Online: not making yourself noticeable; not trying to get the attention of other people; modest: The captain was typically self-effacing when questioned about the team's successes, giving credit to the other players.
・Collins English Dictionary: the act of making oneself, one's actions, etc, inconspicuous, esp because of humility or timidity: De Niro's ability at self-effacement occasionally meets its match, however.
PULVERS氏は日本人の
"self-effacement" を単に称えている訳ではありません。氏のコラムのpenultimate paragraphを次に引用します。
Whether these traits of resignation and self-effacement will serve the people of Tohoku in their endeavor to rebuild their lives is another question. What is called for today is not just self-denial but entirely new paradigms of lifestyle and development.