Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
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Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#2A handful of broad claims, an abnormally high amount of data and decent writing, and discussions here ranging everywhere. So, because someone has to do it, and because I'm curious what his take on this is:
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00000Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#3Also, Japan's population is very old...average age is 45. Older people take far less risks than young people.
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#4Police in Japan are said to beat confessions out of suspects, even false ones[0]
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#5>"Why don't Japanese loot? Because it's not in their culture. How is that culture defined? An absence of looting."
immediately followed by:
>A better explanation may be structural factors: a robust system of laws that reinforce honesty, a strong police presence, and, ironically, active crime organizations.
how is that in any way different from the circular definition the writer just criticized?
which I think indicates the real problem with the 'culture' argument; it's not that it's circular, it's that it is vague, which is why the rest of the (detailed) article is actually quite informative.
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#6High human capital, perhaps? I would hazard the educational/ cultural level of a japanese high school grad about equals that of an American state univ grad (I is one, so I can criticize). Nobody would be surprised SF State got hit by an earthquake and the students didn't loot. (The low educational and cultural level of the US is embarassing....)
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#7The bit about the response of criminal organizations is very interesting. I've heard odd rumors about Japanese career criminals, such as commonly going into the business fully expecting to go to jail. Can any one suggest books / docs on the subject? (Preferably non hollywood-ized).
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#8High human capital, perhaps? I would hazard the educational/ cultural level of a japanese high school grad about equals that of an American state univ grad (I is one, so I can criticize). Nobody would be surprised SF State got hit by an earthquake and the students didn't loot. (The low educational and cultural level of the US is embarassing....)
Downvote? How about a response?
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#9They're good at their jobs, too: The clearance rate for murder in 2010 was an unbelievable 98.2 percent, according to West—so unbelievable that some attribute it to underreporting.
High clearance rates don't mean police are good at their jobs. Police in Japan can hold a suspect for 23 days without charging him. During this period, they try to get a confession out, using techniques such as sleep deprivation. Furthermore, once you get to trial, it is usually with only a judge, not a jury. All levels are pushed to keep up this high conviction rate. So just because the rate is 98%, this doesn't mean justice was actually served at that rate.
Re: Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty.
#10The bit about the response of criminal organizations is very interesting. I've heard odd rumors about Japanese career criminals, such as commonly going into the business fully expecting to go to jail. Can any one suggest books / docs on the subject? (Preferably non hollywood-ized).
The article cites Jake Adelstein and his book "Tokyo Vice", which is a good review of the Yakuza from a western perspective. He also contributes regularly at http://www.japansubculture.com/, which also features a lot of insight.