Why does the person who wants to cancel an appointment say キャンセルさせてください to his/her partner? Assume A has a partner named B. Last week both made an appointment to have dinner (dating). For a certain reason, A cannot come for the appointment and calls B by phone saying > Please make me cancel ... ## Question A wants to cancel the appointment, but why does A ask B to make A cancel it as if the source of problem is on B's side? I think A should say > Please cancel ...

It works like "Please let me", so

> = Please let me cancel [our appointment]

(It wouldn't be interpreted as "Please make me cancel [our appointment]".)

You could also say

> = Please cancel [our appointment]

but it is a lot more direct (and thus less polite).