Does ご無沙汰 imply guilt for not staying in touch?


I have heard from someone that phrases with ご無沙汰 imply "guilt for not staying
in touch".

While I know this can be the case if words like "申し訳ありません" are used, is it
true that ご無沙汰 always indicates guilt?

My feeling is this word is more neutral and does not necessarily indicate
guilt.

For reference, this comment was made in context of comparing ご無沙汰 to 暫く and
久しぶり.




I think it implies guilt only in the same sense that Japanese people often
apologize for things that many people in other countries do not apologize for.

For example, in Japan people often apologize for sending "unsolicited emails"
but really the "unsolicited email" is about something that the recipient and
sender have already talked about, both parties want to continue talking about,
and is not an unsolicited email.

Similarly, ご無沙汰 is generally just a formality of expressing guilt for things
that people in many other countries would not express guilt for.

It's more formal and implies more guilt than 久しぶり.

