OT Japan Earthquake: Ethical Residents Return $78 Million From Rubble

[SEABREEZE]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/japan-earthquake-ethical-_n_930808.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-sb-bb%7Cdl12%7Csec1_lnk3%7C87669

[sc53]

Quote:
Since the March earthquake and tsunami that leveled much of Japan, thousands of wallets containing a total of $48 million in cash have washed ashore -- and been turned in, ABC reports. In addition, 5,700 safes containing $30 million in cash also have turned up.

Ryuji Ito, professor emeritus at Japan's Yokohama City University, tells the Daily Mail that these acts of integrity are simply reflective of the culture:

"...The fact that a hefty 2.3 billion yen in cash has been returned to its owners shows the high level of ethical awareness in the Japanese people."

And doing the right thing doesn't just end with the people who found the money. Japanese officials have also worked tirelessly to track down owners and return safes and other valuables.

That would never happen here--or in London, I'm guessing.

[johnnymossville]

That would never happen here--or in London, I'm guessing.

I tend to think the vast majority of people would do the same here. Nice to see that's for sure.

[Dave B]

[QUOTE=sc53That would never happen here--or in London, I'm guessing.[/QUOTE]


Maybe maybe not.

I think the culture is a huge issue, but us 'mericans are too new to act selflessly like this.

I have an incredible amount of admiration for the humblessness and even more so the discipline of many Asian cultures. While there are always exceptions to any rule I find myself consistently humbled and impressed with my limited experiences in my students and their families. It might not be for everyone, but I cannot express how fascinating it is with words.

[ultraman6970]

It is too much money to keep it, I mean 500 bucks or even 5 grands is small enough but when u talk about millions, sure somebody will notice something un usual. U cant even deposit it, or even move to another country with that, maybe put it under the mattress but u cant even go in a spending spree because somebody will notice and thats it, u get caught.

Real story, in my country an ATM machine banished from a corner, the guys put it in a truck and banished. Nobody had a clue, the machine was found like 2000 miles south open, not traces. Months after an exotic dancer told the cops that a few guys showed up spending a lot of money in a titties bar. Guess what, after a couple of weeks they were on jail, the suckers couldnt keep it low profile.

The other thing is that japanese in general is pretty honest. Personally i would have returned it either...

[verticaldoug]

The area in Japan was quite rural with many small towns dotting the coast. I want to believe if a similar disaster hit the United States in a rural area, the people would behave in a similar manner.

Although $78 million seems like a large number, relative to the scale of the disaster, it is not. 20,000+ dead or missing. 500,000 displaced. 111,944 buildings destroyed, 139,870 partially destroyed buildings, 517,050 partially damaged buildings. (per Japanese Fire Department 8/04/11)

$78mm works out to about 150 per displaced person. Not a lot.

Also, english press does not pick up on the shenanigans going on locally. You did have the massive cover up of Fukushima. You have politicians trying to use the crisis to oust the prime minister and further their own political agendas. Probably not so different from what I'd expect in the U.S.A

[SEABREEZE]

They dont call Japan the Sleeping Giant for nothing, They know how to work together as Ryuji Ito, professor emeritus at Japan's Yokohama City University commented.

For such a small nation, they have established themself as Business leaders.


Thought most would enjoy this story, glad I posted it.

[vqdriver]

It is too much money to keep it, I mean 500 bucks or even 5 grands is small enough but when u talk about millions, sure somebody will notice something un usual. U cant even deposit it, or even move to another country with that


It's not like there's a massive safe that turns up. Probably anything from tens to thousands in any particular wallet or safe. Sounds like the millions are a total sum of many many "smaller" acts of honesty.

[6mt]

the question is, can Americans do the same for one another? last time a disaster striked, police were shooting unarmed bystanders on a bridge and try to cover that up.

[Louis]

Not be the party-pooper here guys, but unless you also know how much cash was found but not turned in, how can you conclude anything from this? For all we know 10x as much was not returned, but pocketed by yakuza thugs and spent later on sake and geisha girls.

I'd like to think that was not the case, but nevertheless, without some reference point the $78 million figure doesn't allow you to draw any conclusions about the relative honesty or crookedness of the Japanese people.

I'm not a statistician, but I do know that this is the sort of news story that drives them nuts.

[Chance]

Not be the party-pooper here guys, but unless you also know how much cash was found but not turned in, how can you conclude anything from this? For all we know 10x as much was not returned, but pocketed by yakuza thugs and spent later on sake and geisha girls.

You just had to ruin the fun with logic and good reasoning. That makes you a party pooper for certain.

[froze]

Most Americans would not return a wallet found on the beach, whereas most Japanese people would. Are the Japanese perfect? No, but overall they have more respect toward their families then we do, and with that respect toward their family comes respect for their neighbor. That attitude won't work 100% of the time but it will work more times then here in America. With all my business dealings I've done over the years, I would trust a Japanese business owner over an American owner if I had my choice. The American owner would have to have all sorts of legal documents signed and then try to find a loop hole, Japanese would be happy with just a handshake and bow and would hold to their word but of course as added protection the legal stuff has to be done. By the way America once upon a time use to be a place where a handshake was good enough.

[Dekonick]

Most Americans would not return a wallet found on the beach, whereas most Japanese people would. Are the Japanese perfect? No, but overall they have more respect toward their families then we do, and with that respect toward their family comes respect for their neighbor. That attitude won't work 100% of the time but it will work more times then here in America. With all my business dealings I've done over the years, I would trust a Japanese business owner over an American owner if I had my choice. The American owner would have to have all sorts of legal documents signed and then try to find a loop hole, Japanese would be happy with just a handshake and bow and would hold to their word but of course as added protection the legal stuff has to be done. By the way America once upon a time use to be a place where a handshake was good enough.

I call BS. I have turned in wallets on more than one occasion. I know of others who have also done so. I have had a wallet returned to me minus the cash, but with everything else inside.

You can't generalize something like this. I do believe most people are more honest than dishonest at heart...

[93legendti]

I call BS. I have turned in wallets on more than one occasion. I know of others who have also done so. I have had a wallet returned to me minus the cash, but with everything else inside.

You can't generalize something like this. I do believe most people are more honest than dishonest at heart...
I agree. Further, Americans give more to charity than any other country and our tax dollars support countries all over the world. I think the attitudes expressed here say more about the posters than Americans.

[froze]

I call BS. I have turned in wallets on more than one occasion. I know of others who have also done so. I have had a wallet returned to me minus the cash, but with everything else inside.

You can't generalize something like this. I do believe most people are more honest than dishonest at heart...

So your the one person that would return it out of a 100 and you call it bs. Tell you what, leave your wallet with a $100 in it in a public restroom and let us know if you get it back, then you have the right to call it bs.

Personally I would too return a wallet just as you would, but you know as well as I do that 9 out of 10 times you lose a wallet your never going to see it again.

[stackie]

Just saw an article on returning wallets. Roughly...

78% said they would return a wallet.

35% said they have had a wallet returned

0% of wallets left on public transportation returned.

Jon

[keevon]

Quote:
Since the March earthquake and tsunami that leveled much of Japan, thousands of wallets containing a total of $48 million in cash have washed ashore -- and been turned in, ABC reports. In addition, 5,700 safes containing $30 million in cash also have turned up.

Something's fishy...

Assume 10,000 wallets have washed up and been turned in...
...that's $4,800 per wallet. Who the hell is walking around with $4,800 in their wallet??

Between that and at least 5,700 people that keep a large amount of cash in safes, the Japanese must not trust their banks very much...

[verticaldoug]

In rural Japan, there are many places that do not use credit cards. So you need cash. It is not uncommon for many Japanese to keep a large amount of cash in the house. (if your banks paid you close to ZERO percent interest for the past 20 yrs, you might not think keeping your money in a bank such a great idea. In addition, even though the article said thousands of wallets, the reality is 500,000 people were displaced. Many of the wallets/safes were actually found by the search and rescue crews that went into the disaster area. Much of the disaster area was off limits to the public and with all the destruction, impossible to get to anyway. (My wife is Japanese and this was how it was reported in Japan.) So to some extent, American Media not letting facts get in the way of the story they want to tell.

As a side note, there was not much looting in Joplin, Missouri after the twister rip a path of destruction for through the town.

To some extent, I think people tend to behave themselves when real mega disasters happen. The one exemption to this was New Orleans during Katrina.

For smaller disasters, I think the riff raff look at it as an opportunity for mischief.

[froze]

As a side note, there was not much looting in Joplin, Missouri after the twister rip a path of destruction for through the town.

To some extent, I think people tend to behave themselves when real mega disasters happen. The one exemption to this was New Orleans during Katrina.

For smaller disasters, I think the riff raff look at it as an opportunity for mischief.

I guess you forgot about what happen in Hurricane Katrina huh?

[54ny77]

Well.......true story: good friend of mine just accidentally left her fancy wallet on the metro north train. Had cash, credit cards, ID, etc. Filed a claim, assumed it was a goner. Three days later, she got a call from the lost & found at Grand Central.

Voila! It's now back, fully intact (minus the couple hundred or so in cash). So there's some half-decent folks in the U.S.! :p

[froze]

Well.......true story: good friend of mine just accidentally left her fancy wallet on the metro north train. Had cash, credit cards, ID, etc. Filed a claim, assumed it was a goner. Three days later, she got a call from the lost & found at Grand Central.

Voila! It's now back, fully intact (minus the couple hundred or so in cash). So there's some half-decent folks in the U.S.! :p

I guess the finder figured they deserved a reward for turning the wallet in, so they rewarded him or herself!!