
Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property - hhs
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200114-why-japan-is-so-successful-at-returning-lost-property
======
jrsdav
I experienced this while visiting Japan.

While doing a transfer on the Shinkansen in Hiroshima, I left my camera bag at
a noodle kiosk on the platform (around $3k worth of equipment). Didn't realize
it until 2 hours after getting on the next train.

When we arrived at our destination, I told my friend we were meeting (a
Japanese native) what happened, and she reassured me that it would be right
where I left it (said something about there being a "taboo" with the Japanese
and touching other people's private property).

So we walked over to the JR attendant and explained what happened, and in no
time at all she had the other station attendant on the line who confirmed they
found my bag. Just as easy as that.

Then I proceeded to lose my wallet and passport in a taxi, which we recovered
just as easily!

Japan is a great country to visit, if while abroad you displace the part of
your brain that keeps track of things...

~~~
jyounker
On the other hand, the Japanese are inveterate umbrella thieves. So much so
that you will find _locking_ umbrella racks in many buildings.

The pressure has to go somewhere.

~~~
Reedx
The article hits on this, suggesting that they are viewed as communal property
since they're so abundant, cheap and frequently forgotten. Umbrellas are also
an on demand item, so can see how this could evolve as a sort of community
solution to the rain problem.

~~~
irrational
What is the rain problem? I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains for 9
months out of the year. Our solution is to not use umbrellas at all. Everyone
has a waterproof rain jacket.

~~~
hocuspocus
In Japan and many other parts of East Asia, it rains most during the hottest
months of summer. You don't wear jackets when it's 30+ °C and humid outside.

But after living in the region for many years, I agree people also tend to be
a bit irrationally afraid of the rain.

~~~
hutzlibu
Ah, but I suppose there are areas with bigger fears of rain. I was hitchhiking
through spain and someone who picked me up was a wine farmer, who told stories
of people not coming to work, because that day it was raining - in a different
village.

~~~
technotony
I've had people cancel meetings with me in San Francisco 'because it was
raining'. To be fair the roads here do become significantly more stressful
then, but whenever it happens it feels ridiculous. My theory is that whatever
the worst 1-2% of weather days per year becomes a weather excuse anywhere in
the world. In the Phillipines it had to be bad typhoon, not just a normal one.
In London it was moderate snowfall (that wouldn't cause a dent in switzerland
for instance).

~~~
vidarh
I remember my first visit to California. We were in Santa Cruz for work, and
got down to the breakfast room in the hotel and the tv news talked about
storms. We looked out and it was drizzling. Walked to the office and got
slightly damp, and coworkers thought we were crazy.

------
supernova87a
There are both amazingly good and amazingly bad things about Japanese culture.

The shame of being seen to be not honest or respecting people's property leads
to amazing responsibility and kindness.

But it also leads to people being depressed and feeling constrained not to be
able to break out of societal expectations.

The very things that make us love Japan, would make you go crazy to live
there. So enjoy the privilege of being able to visit and experience the
benefits, while not having to deal with the downsides.

And maybe it causes you to reflect that, in the US -- the very personal
freedoms (i.e. lack of guilt on being disobedient or trying new things) leads
to a society where it's more likely you're not getting your wallet back if you
leave it somewhere...

~~~
duxup
There was a good blog post about a guy living in Japan.

Here he was in this clean and crime free place, but his bicycle kept getting
trashed overnight. Just his bike parked in a sea of other bikes.

He thought it was because he was a foreigner, but finally after he reported it
to the police numerous times someone explained the phrase "The nail that
sticks out gets knocked down." and pointed out the bikes he was buying were
from China.

His bike looked similar to everyone else's bike in the area, but it was made
by a Chinese company and there had been news stories about how these bikes
were faulty / dangerous / bad (the information apparently was somewhat
questionable).

So he bought a proper Japanese bike that looked like the other bikes, and it
never happened again.

The contrast of a clean and orderly society with very targeted pressure by
random members of society not to do something like buy the wrong bike ... is
quite striking.

~~~
drdeadringer
> "The nail that sticks out gets knocked down."

Ever since I first heard this I've kept both this phrase and the phrase "the
squeaky wheel gets the grease" in mind at the same time.

Basically, both sides of this coin together ask you "should you speak up?"
type of thing; substitute "speak up" with whatever the given situation is.

~~~
raarts
We Dutch have a similar proverb: "Whoever sticks his head above ground level,
his head is cut off. "

~~~
1996
Tall poppy syndrome, which can be oppressive in Northern Europe.

Germany seems more relaxed than the Netherlands, and France seems to be worse.
I've had friends telling me their Mercedes got frequently keyed for no reason,
and the old Mercedes star on their classic even got ripped off.

~~~
monksy
That's very true in Germany. They do have a lot of freedoms, but they aren't
very creative as a society. They fall back on strong adherence to rules and
their culture re-enforces it.

See this:

[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/10599631/Why-
the...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/10599631/Why-the-green-
man-is-king-in-Germany.html)

~~~
wahern
I don't think creativity and adherence to social rules lie along the same
axis. Strictures can spur and channel creativity. And the absence of strong
normative behaviors doesn't coincidence with greater creativity--there are
plenty of countries, mostly undeveloped, where people generally do anything
they want[1], but there's not much creativity going on.

As the rest of the world industrializes and the deficiencies and costs of our
own social fabric are revealed in comparison, Americans seem to increasingly
like to distinguish ourselves as "creative". But it's really just a euphemism
intended to characterize our differences in a way that permits us to claim
that we're "better" at something. Back when the U.S. was a leading industrial
power house, when our democratic institutions were unique, there was no need
to identify a specific quality like creativity to distinguish ourselves.

[1] I've been in at least one country where the very _concept_ of a line
seemed foreign to most of the people, who were within months or years (not
even generations) removed from an nomadic lifestyle. This was qualitatively
different than in some other countries with aggressive line jockeying and
cheating.

------
virtuous_signal
This smells like a lot of post-hoc rationalization. Collectivism? What about
China, which did terribly on this kind of test. Shintoism? Only 3-4% of the
population follows that. See [https://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-people-
are-honest-los...](https://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-people-are-honest-
lost-wallets-experiment-20190620-story.html) where the graphic in the middle
of the page compares countries. It appears that Scandinavian countries fare
best followed by Eastern European. I would be happy to hear what people at HN
think are the real reasons.

For what it's worth, as a scatterbrained person, I think it would be great
living in a country with so much trust that I could expect my lost things not
to be stolen.

~~~
nwienert
Homogenous, nationalistic, small country with high IQ, good education system,
high GDP, low levels of immigration, and a culture that emphasizes community.

Oh, and lower levels of inequality, relatively, and a more aligned
politics/media system that doesn’t foment distrust.

~~~
omegaworks
Immigration has been steadily increasing in Japan.[1] That homogeneity
presupposes trust is a right-wing stereotype used to devalue immigrants in a
society and justify harsh enforcement. You can find people of every ethnicity
in Tokyo, including many half and full Brazilian people that you could mistake
for latinos here in the US[2].

1\.
[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/03/11/national/japan-...](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/03/11/national/japan-
sees-record-high-number-foreign-residents-justice-ministry/#.Xh9wNVNKiuV)

2\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilians_in_Japan#Migration_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilians_in_Japan#Migration_history)

~~~
matheusmoreira
> That homogeneity presupposes trust is a right-wing stereotype used to
> devalue immigrants in a society and justify harsh enforcement.

The fact it's a right wing idea doesn't mean it's wrong. A nation's laws is
written by its people. The fact is different peoples have different cultures
and follow different sets of rules. The ideal immigrant is the one who
naturalizes and fully integrates into the existing society. What usually
happens is they stick together in foreigner groups for mutual support. They
maintain their culture and continue living by the same rules they are used to.

It is extremely demoralizing to see people not only break the rules we follow
but come out ahead for doing so while escaping any retribution. It's even
worse when foreigners do it because it simply isn't part of their culture. If
a group of people doesn't litter the streets and foreigners who think nothing
of it suddenly arrive, they will be looked down upon.

> You can find people of every ethnicity in Tokyo, including many half and
> full Brazilian people that you could mistake for latinos here in the US

A relative minority. Many more japanese live in Brazil than the other way
around.

~~~
omegaworks
>What usually happens is they stick together in foreigner groups for mutual
support.

Which is why proactive government outreach and support is so important. Why
trust-building is important. People need to understand the VASTLY different
role police play in Japan, and they need that information communicated in
accessible ways. Harsh enforcement degrades that trust and creates insularity.
Immigrants provide benefits to the host countries' economies, but rather than
use some of that wealth to create and foster social programs, host country
politicians instead use these communities as a scapegoat for the anger
generated by austerity's impacts on the working poor.

Countries want the economic benefits of immigrants without the necessary
investment in immigrant communities.

>They maintain their culture and continue living by the same rules they are
used to.

Every person understands theft and the effects it has. This notion that the
immigrant or their community is somehow inherently lesser or more tolerant or
capable of anti-social behavior is textbook xenophobia.

~~~
matheusmoreira
> Harsh enforcement degrades that trust and creates insularity.

Indeed. It increases the risk associated with being part of that society. I
don't know what the correct answer is.

> Countries want the economic benefits of immigrants without the necessary
> investment in immigrant communities.

Many immigrants also want the benefits of living in a developed country with a
high quality of life without fully integrating into the society that made it
possible in the first place.

> Every person understands theft and the effects it has.

Yes, but the rules and consequences for violating them are not universal.
Depending on where they come from, violence may be an acceptable way to
resolve conflicts. In some circles, people are immediately held accountable
for their actions. In other circles, they might be quietly excluded from a
group.

> This notion that the immigrant or their community is somehow inherently
> lesser or more tolerant or capable of anti-social behavior is textbook
> xenophobia.

Not _all_ immigrants will be like this but it is a mistake to simply ignore
their background. Every immigrant has the potential to naturalize but it is
also important to think about what could happen should they fail to integrate.

------
ookblah
I found this similar mentality in Korea where you can leave your laptop,
phone, etc. at a cafe completely exposed on a table while you go to the
restroom or even out to lunch. When you come back your stuff will still be
there.

As I live in NYC, this completely blew my mind and I still felt that anxiety
and awkwardness just leaving my stuff to go use the restroom. Near guaranteed
theft in NYC lol.

\---

And to add another story. A friend and I were traveling in Japan a few years
ago. My friend had the lucky privilege of forgetting his backpack (with
laptop, passport, all the not-fun-stuff to lose items) not once, but twice
during the trip.

The first time, he forgot it on the train ride to Osaka (left it on the rack
above the seats). The bag went all the way to the end of the line. 4 hour
round trip to get it back, but we were super surprised.

Second time was the day we were to fly back. He left it on the train platform
bench (!!!) for that non-stop ride to Narita. That feeling of dread when we
started moving and he realized he had to wait at least an hour before he could
contact anybody about it.

Long story short, he took the 1 hour train back and it was still sitting
there. Missed the flight, but got everything back safely. Amazing.

~~~
jessriedel
I worked in NYC coffee shops on a daily basis for 2 years (and Toronto and SF
for more years). Whenever I went to the bathroom, I just asked a random person
nearby if they would make sure no one walked off with my stuff. I never had
anything stolen, and the people I ask don't seem bothered in the slightest.
It's a very small burden, and I think there's something pleasant about having
someone put their trust in you.

~~~
jborichevskiy
> I worked in NYC coffee shops on a daily basis for 2 years (and Toronto and
> SF for more years). Whenever I went to the bathroom, I just asked a random
> person nearby if they would make sure no one walked off with my stuff.

Used to do this as well (NYC) till I realized nobody was going to be pulling
John Wick stunts to keep my five year old laptop from being taken away. Now I
just make sure I'm not right near an entrance and leave my stuff with
reasonable confidence. YMMV of course.

~~~
asdff
Personally I'd pipe up if someone asked me to watch a laptop and another
person made a move on it. In a crowded store full of witnesses, that's all it
would take to deter a thief.

~~~
jborichevskiy
Fair point. Especially given such a crime would be pretty opportunistic.

That being said, this does remind me of the stunts pulled to get Ross
Ulbricht's laptop:

> To prevent Ulbricht from encrypting or deleting files on the laptop he was
> using to run the site as he was arrested, two agents pretended to be
> quarreling lovers. When they had sufficiently distracted him,[30] according
> to Joshuah Bearman of Wired, a third agent grabbed the laptop while Ulbricht
> was distracted by the apparent lovers' fight and handed it to agent Thomas
> Kiernan.[31] Kiernan then inserted a flash drive in one of the laptop's USB
> ports, with software that copied key files.[30]

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht)

I do think if anyone was that determined to get my laptop they probably
deserve it.

~~~
magduf
Wow, this guy got a double life sentence plus 40 years for "money laundering,
computer hacking, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics"? He could have gotten a
lighter sentence if he had carried out a mass shooting.

And how did the flash drive trick work? Was he running Windows on that laptop?
Very bad idea.

------
hoi
When I was living in Japan, i once lost my wallet on a bicycle ride. It must
have fallen out of my pocket somewhere on the route i was taking.

I didn't notice it was missing until I got home, got my keys out to open the
door and realised the wallet was missing. I went back out on the bike and
retraced my route but couldnt see the wallet annoyed that I would have to
cancel cards, get a new ID card.

After I got home again, i was procrastinating about cancelling the cards for
about 30mins and then decided to crack on. After I picked up the phone to
start, the front door bell rang, I opened the door and there were 2 ladies
with my wallet, they handed me my wallet, asked me to check everything was
there and then apologized for taking so long to return my wallet.

Apparently they found my wallet, went to an address I had left in there, but I
had recently moved apartments, so they went to the Koban, Police officer told
them my address based off my ID card and then they came to my address.

~~~
scarejunba
Well, would you look at that privacy leakage there.

------
vearwhershuh
_" What’s in it for the finder to be honest enough to hand in the item?"_

By asking this question, you deny yourself access to its answer.

~~~
GuB-42
Why? That's the kind of question that makes up the entire field of game
theory.

In every situation, the most natural strategy is to maximize personal gains.
That's how natural selection works. But when people don't act like that, it
means there must be some opposing force, normally one that benefits society.
There is a lot to learn here, in fields as diverse as biology, economics,
computing, and of course, games.

~~~
someone7x
> In every situation, the most natural strategy is to maximize personal gains.

The iterated prisoner's dilemma begs to differ.

There are many many situations where cooperation is both natural and optimal.

~~~
samatman
The iterated prisoner's dilemma does no such thing, as it's scored by
maximizing personal gains.

It does point to the advantages of not defecting on players who cooperate.

~~~
james_s_tayler
What's fascinating about the iterated prisoners dilemma is there is no optimal
strategy as the optimal strategy changes depending on the distribution of
strategies in play.

The best you can do if you have no idea what strategies are in place is to
employ Tit For Tat (I think?) as it's optimal under the largest number of
conditions but not all the time.

------
tyfon
It's not quite at the level of Japan, but Aftenposten, which is a newspaper in
Norway, conducted a test [1] (translation [2]) in Oslo where they "lost" 20
wallets. 15 eventually returned.

Personally I've lost my wallet twice and it has been returned both times.

It is nice to be able to trust your fellow citisens somewhat :)

[1] [https://www.aftenposten.no/okonomi/i/zlOb/slik-gikk-det-
da-a...](https://www.aftenposten.no/okonomi/i/zlOb/slik-gikk-det-da-
aftenposten-mistet-20-lommeboeker)

[2]
[https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https...](https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aftenposten.no%2Fokonomi%2Fi%2FzlOb%2Fslik-
gikk-det-da-aftenposten-mistet-20-lommeboeker)

~~~
retrac
The Toronto Star tried the same thing in Toronto. 15 of 20 were returned. (One
minus the cash.)

[https://www.thestar.com/life/2009/04/25/we_left_20_wallets_a...](https://www.thestar.com/life/2009/04/25/we_left_20_wallets_around_the_gta_most_came_back.html)

------
verisimilidude
The abundance of "police boxes" in Japan, small satellite police stations,
probably helps a lot.

While living in Japan, I found a lost wallet on the street, in the gutter.
That wallet was sitting just down the street from the police. Line-of-sight.
Picking up the wallet and taking it to the station was immediately obvious and
convenient.

~~~
viburnum
I love the police boxes. When I was in Japan the officers helped me a lot with
directions and reading maps.

~~~
magduf
That's totally different from America, where police will get pissed and yell
at you to get lost if you ask them for directions. (Speaking from personal
experience)

~~~
viburnum
I know! I didn’t even have to ask for help in Japan. I think seeing a tourist
holding a map is all they need to spring into action. Gotta keep those
tourists out of trouble.

I like how police officers in other countries look like normal humans and not
stormtroopers. Makes me feel safe.

~~~
magduf
>I like how police officers in other countries look like normal humans and not
stormtroopers. Makes me feel safe.

Yep, I feel exactly the same. The police in Japan look very professional, and
not at all like stormtroopers; the shirt and tie they wear just isn't
something you'd wear into combat.

See:
[https://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.3451993.1523010914!...](https://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.3451993.1523010914!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg)

Versus: [https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-respect-for-police-
re...](https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-respect-for-police-reaches-
highest-level-since-1967-poll-finds-1477344780)

It also helps that police in other countries don't just shoot first and ask
questions later, like American police: [https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-
asia-pacific-38534288/wrap...](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-
pacific-38534288/wrapping-people-in-futons-how-the-japanese-police-confront-
violence)

------
BlameKaneda
"Tamura describes the concept of 'hito no me'; the ‘societal eye’. Even
without a police presence, no theft will occur while there is hito no me. But
left in a place where there is no one watching, thefts do occur."

"Likewise, in Shintoism everything, from rocks to trees, possesses a spirit.
While organised Shintoism is a minority practice in Japan, omniscient objects
permeate the culture....if you are always being watched and your natural
disposition is to think of others first, it is natural that you would be
bothered to hand in the lost item."

The concept of "standing out" is a bit foreign in collectivist cultures like
Japan, and getting blamed/shunned/etc for stealing would be mentally taxing.

~~~
LeoTinnitus
That is how I analyzed it for the most part since there was such a wide
variance between countries. Eastern Europe really stood out to me and I
believe that may have to do with a generation of people that were used to the
surveillance state of post-communist society.

In the US, the social impact generally means little, however the economic and
time one matters a lot (via jail or fines). Post-communist states might be
still conditioned to live in a culture where people are used to corrupt police
that ENSURING you have nothing damning is far better than taking a risk and
dealing with getting out of that.

------
pzumk
> In a study comparing dropped phones and wallets in New York and Tokyo, 88%
> of phones “lost” by the researchers were handed into the police by Tokyo
> residents, compared to 6% of the ones “lost” in New York. Likewise, 80% of
> Tokyo wallets were handed in compared to 10% in New York.

Wow!

------
NotASithLord
My phone slipped out of my pocket on the subway on my last night in Tokyo.
Realized 20 minutes later, talked to some employees and described what kind of
phone it was (a cheap Samsung, really not a big deal), gone as can be. Flew
back home to Miami.

Received my phone back in the mail a month later. A friend of mine there kept
checking with the employees and it eventually showed up in lost and found.
Refused to allow me to pay for the international shipping.

------
dr_dshiv
My first day in Japan I fell asleep on the train. I woke up to a train
employee telling me to leave the train. I grabbed my bag and left in a daze,
only to realize too late that I left my duffle bag on the top shelf. I
reported it and was assured that it would be found. 2 weeks later they still
hadn't found my bag but kindly told me that it must have been a Korean.

Um. Well, that was 20 years ago. I'm sure things are different now.

~~~
dba7dba
I loled at that `must have been a Korean` comment.

History of Koreans in Japan has a complicated story. But basically ethnic
Koreans are treated as a second class citizen in Japan.

A Korean-American friend told me this story. He worked with a Britain/Ireland
born coworker who was working in US at the time. Blond, European. He traveled
fair bit to Japan. He knew this guy was Korean-American and in a conversation
he asked the Korean-American why Japanese didn't like Koreans.

The EU guy said when he visited Japan in 2000, Japanese told him they didn't
like Koreans.

And than in 2005 or so, he heard from Japanese that they liked Koreans.

In what context the Japanese told a blond European guy why they liked or
didn't like Koreans is unknown.

This EU born coworker was confused what changed in that 5 year period.

~~~
yongjik
> This EU born coworker was confused what changed in that 5 year period.

Could be this guy: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bae_Yong-
joon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bae_Yong-joon)

Or more seriously, a series of Korean dramas that somehow gained immense
popularity in Japan. Bae, nicknamed Yon-sama, became so popular that Japanese
prime minister (Junichiro Koizumi) joked that he wanted to be like Yon-sama.

~~~
dba7dba
Yup, I looked up and sure enough 'Winter Sonata' TV series was shown in Japan
in 2003.

Irony is that of the 10 richest peeps in Japan, 2 are Korean descent. One owns
big chain of pachinko. [https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-pachinko-
gambling-ja...](https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-pachinko-gambling-
japan-2018-7)

The other is Masayoshi Son

Both were denied the path to a stable salary career life time job at a big
firm and so they went on their own way.

------
laurieg
Funny this story should come up now.

Two days ago I was on my regular running route and I saw a wallet on the
ground. It had 5000 yen (around 50 USD) sticking out of it. The weather was a
bit damp and it was far from a police box so I didn't want to risk getting
randomly stopped and searched on my way to hand it in so I just put it on a
fence post and went on my way.

I run the same route everyday, so when I ran the next day lo and behold, the
wallet was still there, complete with 5000 yen note sticking out. I'm curious
if it will still be there on today's run.

~~~
asdff
Is getting randomly stopped and searched a concern?

~~~
laurieg
It doesn't happen that often but it does happen. Foreign residents are
required to carry a resident card at all times and the police are allowed to
check for it. This can come with a search.

Japanese nationals don't need to carry any form of ID by law, so you can see
that how the police choose who to stop might be somewhat problematic.

~~~
innocentoldguy
I lived in Japan for over 3 years and I was never stopped. It can happen,
technically, but I don't think it happens all that often.

------
sanitycheck
I think part of this is that a far greater proportion of "lost" valuables in
Japan are _really_ lost than in other countries, street crime being pretty
rare.

But still, that 6% figure for New York! Can it be true? Is it really normal to
steal other people's shit if they leave it behind?

~~~
zuminator
Just as an anecdote from a NYC resident, a couple years back I found a
Japanese woman's wallet on a commuter bus. From the address I saw that the
owner lived in my neighborhood so I went by her home after work to return it.
Nobody was home so I left a little note with my phone number. She called me,
and I met her the next day to return it to her. I considered our business
concluded but about two months later she and her husband sent me a Christmas
card with a gift card inside. I thanked them but sent the gift card back.

I have also lost my own wallet on multiple occasions when I was younger and
more careless, and I would say it was returned maybe two out of five times.
Not great, but not that bad either.

~~~
ido
I don't know about Japanese culture, but where I'm from accepting the gift
would be the polite thing to do (vs rejecting it).

~~~
selectodude
Yeah, spending postage and effort to return a $20 gift card (or whatever it
was) is so rude. I'm not sure where in the world that wouldn't come off as
rude.

~~~
TomMarius
> From the address I saw that the owner lived in my neighborhood

Probably went on his foot

~~~
zuminator
Since they sent me a Xmas card, I reciprocated in kind, also enclosing the
gift card with a note apologizing but asking that they give it to a needy
person at their church during the holiday season. (They had also sent me an
invitation to attend services.) So no additional postage needed.

~~~
magduf
If they attend a church, they are really odd for Japanese, since almost no
Japanese are Christian (at least in Japan).

~~~
jbn
they represent about 1% of population (see
[https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/Pope-
Francis-...](https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/Pope-Francis-
Japan-visit-spotlights-a-safe-haven-for-Catholics)), seems to me that "almost
none" is bit strong :)

------
zebnyc
Honest question: Do folks feel warm fuzzies when they do something "good /
+ve"? Frankly unless I went out of my way to do something significant, I don't
feel anything. Asking as there might be some of that going on here.

For e.g., around Christmas here in SF, I was a at a shopping mall parking lot
waiting for my wife to return. I noticed a man counting a few bills of cash.
He counted and then turned to head to his car. As he turned he dropped a
couple of bills. I just shouted out to him to bring it to my attention so he
could get it. I don't feel anything about the incident and would be hard
pressed to use it as a barometer of my character.

~~~
sethammons
Likely a few dollars means nothing to you so the act of pointing the nearly
lost dollars is a similar small task (not withstanding the possibility the act
could have a profound effect on the recipient depending on their situation).

When I was younger and we were struggling hard, we found a wallet in a store
loaded with green bills. That money would have had immediate, real, positive
impact for us, like gas money and food that we did not have. We turned in the
wallet and did not bother counting the bills. The cashier might have pocketed
the money, who knows. But hopefully the owner of the wallet got their stuff
back. I think that act does cast a barometer on my and my wife's character. We
did what was "right" \-- the property was not ours and not ours to take. Did
we feel good about it? Nope! It was just doing the right thing even though
there was a touch of pain to it.

~~~
FriendlyNormie
Why did you give the wallet to a random person you had no reason to trust when
you could have looked at the address on the ID in the wallet and taken it
there yourself?

~~~
sethammons
Solid question. We did not have a vehicle to deliver nor a way to pay postage
to mail them their wallet. Also, naive youth - we just hoped the store clerk
would do the right thing when the person came back looking for their wallet.

------
AnimalMuppet
I remember forgetting an umbrella in a restaurant in Tokyo, and being chased
down in the street by someone returning it. It was pretty amazing.

------
enahs-sf
Anecdotal evidence here: Went to Japan, was out in a crowded area after
dinner. A woman's wallet fell out of her pocket as she walked along. Literally
a crowd of people rushed to pick it up and give it back to her. Never seen
anything like that. One of many strange phenomena observed on the streets of
Tokyo at night.

------
turingbook
Yes, it is very impressive. I lost my prepaid card (Suica card? withou name or
password stuff) with tens of thousands of Yen in Tokyo's Disneyland train in
last year. After half an hour, a sweating Metro staff found it and returned to
me.

------
jhanschoo
The article attributes this characteristic with Buddhism and collectivism
without much comparative evaluation, and I find the explanation utterly
unconvincing. For if it is Buddhism and communalism that led to such societal
behavior, why is it that its neighboring largely Buddhist and largely
collectivist East Asian and South-East Asian neighbors don't exhibit such
characteristics? A proper argument in terms of "cultural history" needs to
account for comparative evidence.

Interestingly when I encounter this kind of sloppy "cultural history"
reasoning it is from a BBC article.

------
kibwen
Little-known tip: in the US, if you happen to find a lost wallet that contains
an ID, you can just drop it in the nearest postbox and the USPS has the duty
to attempt to return it to its rightful owner. Here's the relevant page of the
postal code:
[https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/507.htm](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/507.htm)

~~~
Hydraulix989
Given what I've seen and also have personally experienced with postal
employees, I wouldn't place much trust in it, for example:

"USPS loses about $1800 of packages from store.rossmanngroup.com :("
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4CCuMg6jXI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4CCuMg6jXI)

------
NalNezumi
I don't think you can point the reason for this on one specific cause, and
better bundle it up as "culture".

I've wonder if this is also the cause for the low appreciation for privacy in
the Japanese society. I've noticed that the Japanese seems to be more "ok"
with the idea of Google/Facebook/Line/big company snooping around and
collecting your data, even engineers. It is also culturally more accepted to
point out physical feature and ask private questions in this country. "you've
become fat!", "Why don't you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?", "you speak/walk/do
something very weird" is comments you can get from both relatives, co-workers
and not-so-close friends.

The typical "mind your own business" attitude you expect in the west seems to
not be as prevalent here, and the "If you have nothing to hide, you don't need
anonymity and privacy" is an argument most people consider to be valid here.

------
grillvogel
its funny that this article is part of a japan 2020 olympics feature, when
there will surely be an increase in crime and bad behavior due to all the 2020
visitors.

------
mmhsieh
i lost a phone in shinjuku station and located with the help of the station
employees within 30 minutes. somehow they did this location act in the busiest
subway junction in the world, with just a few phone calls.

------
Data_Junkie
Proves that honesty is really about being well trained. Which in America at
least is the backbone of many, many unsolved problems . A entire culture based
upon education and training only going to who is approved by the State and
Capital, instead of training young people because they are young, and people.

------
shujito
discipline, education and culture

~~~
rs999gti
> discipline and culture

Monoculture

~~~
makapuf
Do you say that with a negative or positive tone ? It's hard to tell from your
answer. And if so, why ?

~~~
jshevek
I took it as an observation or speculation of cause and effect. There is no
judgement (positive or negative) needed for this.

------
spicyramen
I was in Japan in 2008 and we didn't have an umbrella, when someone from a
store gave it to us I felt so happy and thankful from the store how come a
random person be so nice, couldn't believe how they went from Naijinh to
Pokemon in one generation

------
Gatsky
I notice that this story and the story about Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan
are both on the front page of HN.

Lucky for Ghosn, the rest of the world is less successful at returning Japan's
lost property.

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bamboozled
I love Japan and the mystery continues with its fascinating culture.

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thbr99
Britain is bad at returning stolen property. Eg Kohinoor

------
throwaheyy
Because they care about others

