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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?
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?
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.
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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.
discipline, education and culture
Monoculture
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...
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... 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 p…
Oh, and lower levels of inequality, relatively, and a more aligned politics/media system that doesn’t foment distrust.
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... 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 p…
Comparing China to Japan won't do any good as the cultural revolution decimated its social capital.
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 privile…
I do wish to believe that a personal freedom society and a society that takes your wallet don't have to be tightly coupled... Although I will say the public shame of Japan is stronger than the private shame of the US.
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... 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 p…
Shame and the homogeneous makeup of the population likely play large roles. Comparing China to Japan won't do any good as the cultural revolution decimated its social capital.
"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.
When you take a basic moral truth, but then phrase it so that it will not immediately be apparent what you are saying.... You create the appearance of profound wisdom. And often book deals.