While I make humor about Japan, it needs to be said that there are a lot of good things going for this nation too. Let me cite one small example that happened not more than 15 minutes ago.
I went to the gas station to tank up my car; it's called a Montero in the US, Pajero (no laughing you Spanish speakers!) in Japan. The Mitsubishi has running boards below the doors to provide a step-up for people to get into the rather high-off-the-ground seats.
As the gas station attendant -- young guy of about 20 or so -- was wiping all the windows (most gas stations in Japan are still "full serve"), he found a 500 yen coin (about USD$5.50) on the passenger-side running board. I had no idea it was there; it must have been dropped by my son when he was getting into the car. I did not see the attendant find anything; in fact, I was not even watching him as he went about his business. I am not sure I could even see him all that well in the rear-view side mirrors.
The attendant brought the coin around to my side of the car and asked, "Did you drop this?" Having never left the driver's seat, I naturally said, "No." And he said, "Well, I found it on the running board on the other side. Maybe someone else dropped it." And he handed it to me.
In the US where petty pilfering in supermarkets and department stores is rampant (in 3 months of living in Seattle, I personally discovered no fewer than 5 examples of it -- opened packages, missing contents!), this sort of honesty would be almost unthinkable.
In Japan, we take it for granted.
Next post from Seattle.
Cheers!
Yes, we DO take this for granted! Honesty is so commonplace you don't even notice it.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, a Japanese friend I was with asked a guy filling up a vending machine for the 110 yen he had lost in that machine a week before. The guy handed him the money and even APOLOGIZED for the inconvenience! Expressing by disbelief, I told my friend, "Anybody could lie and get those guys to hand them money!" His reply was, "Yes, but why would someone do that?"
We westerners really are barbaric, aren't we?
Not to mention the many cases of the Western tourist leaving a tip on a table, then being chased down the street by a waitress, saying,"Sir, sir! You left money on the table!"
ReplyDelete