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What happened in Japan was a tragedy, a natural disaster. While following the news coverage online and on cable tv, it occurred to me that what we are not hearing about events in Japan is quite important. No reports of looting, rioting, widespread criminal activity.
Contrast this to what happened in New Orleans after Katrina or Haiti after the earthquake there.
To understand a situation, look for what is seen and what is unseen.
Why is this? Culture? Civil society? Homogenous population? All of these?
Dagny's Desk 
kayjulia said:
All of the above plus they are a society with a lot more older people who are less likely to be involved in riots, looting, etc.
Ed said:
It’s a good question: “Why do we loot but Japanese don’t?”
Others are asking it too:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100079703/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan/
http://current.com/191tp4c
Here’s one person’s answer ( from the above current.com article );
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To Merry White, an anthropology professor at Boston University who studies Japanese culture , the real question is why looting and disorder exist in American society. She attributes it largely to social alienation and class gaps.
“There IS some alienation and indeed some class gaps in Japan too but violence, and taking what belongs to others, are simply not culturally approved or supported,” White said in an e-mail.
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Is there a lesson here? Should we be working to decrease social “alienation and class gaps” so that we can react better as a society when disaster hits?
What do you think?
Ed said:
Why is this? Culture? Civil society? Homogeneous population? All of these?
One more thing to consider is Japan’s strict gun control laws and low gun ownership.
Dagny Gromer said:
Ed, I’ve always believed that an armed society is a polite society.
Looting and rioting are mostly unarmed crimes. In the Los Angeles riots of the 1990’s, armed Korean shopowners were able to protect their property simply by being obviously armed and without fireing their weapons.
Paul said:
United States is multi-cultural, muti-national, multi-racial country. There is no kinship or belong as WHOLE group. That is difference between them and us.