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Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

bbc.com

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Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#211

Post by thrower123 »

bamboozled wrote: post #209
jyounker wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It’s because almost everyone uses the same umbrellas (cheap from a convenience store). Ive never had any other type taken. It’s hard to tell which one is yours and it basically becomes an umbrella share pool. No big deal. I’ve also had cases where I was caught in the rain and people tried to give me their umbrella.

This brings back strong memories from college. Everyone had black Northface zip-up jackets, so when you would go to a frat party, there would be a giant pile of jackets laid on the couches in the common room. At the end of the night, it was a crapshoot whether drunken party-goers actually found their jacket, or one of the dozens of identical ones.

The next afternoon, there would inevitably be a cascade of campus-wide emails asking for the return of jackets containing wallets/ids/keys.

The thrift shops did a strong business in supplying the most garish and distinctive "frackets" to combat this problem.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#212

Post by quickthrowman »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #195
wisty wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you steal even a few dollars of merchandise from a corner store, the police can hold you for a number of days without trial. And most people won't feel sorry because that's what happens to thieves, so you should have known not to do it. A society decides what's acceptable, and how far they're willing to go to uphold these expectations.

Likewise DUI in Japan. Japan is much more strict than the US. One beer before driving and you become a guest of the state for 3 years. Just don't do it.

It’s easier to sleep it off in Japan, just lay down on the sidewalk and come morning, you’ll be unharmed, and may possibly have gained a blanket overnight. Source: many internet photos of salarymen sleeping one off in every conceivable public place

I’m sure public transit helps too.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#214

Post by innocentoldguy »

irrational wrote: post #107
Reedx wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

It's too hot to wear a rain jacket in Japan. You'll get wetter from sweating than you would from jumping fully clothed into a pool.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#215

Post by acidtoyman »

asdff wrote: post #149
laurieg wrote: post #93

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 n…

Is getting randomly stopped and searched a concern?

It depends on where you live. There are areas where you never hear of it, and others where being carded once or twice a year is the norm.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#216

Post by innocentoldguy »

laurieg wrote: post #200
asdff wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is getting randomly stopped and searched a concern?

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.

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.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#217

Post by Aeolun »

BurningFrog wrote: post #181
kenhwang wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're pretty much communal when I visited Tokyo/Kyoto. Pretty much always left the building with a different umbrella than I entered with. Just about everyone uses the same $5-10 black/gray/white/clear umbrella. They all go into the umbrella bucket when you enter a building. Everyone just grabs one on their way out that's close enough to the same as the one the dropped in. Sometimes you leave a building and it's no…

Note that for this to work, people have to only take the umbrella you need. Not grab all of them and sell. BTW: I'm really glad to hear this, because I've been having some regrets about grabbing random umbrellas in Tokyo, because everyone seemed to do it. Glad I did it right after all!

Only grab an umbrella if you also deposited one! There’s nothing more annoying than to come out of a store and find all umbrellas gone.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#218

Post by mikorym »

jrsdav wrote: post #5

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 s…

It's funny, but in South Africa crime and especially theft is very common, and at the same time, personal property sometimes find their way back to you.

This especially tends to happen if for example you were robbed and your wallet was left behind or let's say the police were harassing you and threw your driver's license over a fence or something (true story).

I think the reason for this is that the serial criminals are really 50% are really just normal and usually decent people.

Re: Why Japan is so successful at returning lost property

#220

Post by Aeolun »

cookingrobot wrote: post #124
jrsdav wrote: post #5

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 s…

I once found a wallet on the sidewalk outside a mall in Japan. I tried to drop it at the mall's lost and found, but the security guard there took me with him to a police box. The policeman there took me to the local police station, and we spent the next hour filling out a report. They were all very friendly and appreciative that I turned it in, but it was really quite an ordeal. If I were to find something valuable a…

Honestly, I generally prefer to find my lost item exactly where I left it.
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