Why is there no looting in Japan after the earthquake?

[dedalusdedalus]

Keep in mind there are A LOT of Chinese aiding the Nanking massacre. Something Iris Chang didn't focus on in her book which I own and have read many times.

I'm curious about this point. When you mention collaborationists, do you mean the Collaborationist Chinese Army, or some other group?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborat ... inese_Army

The Chinese Collaborationist Army was drawn from the various puppet governments (Manchuko, Menjiang, etc) that Japan set up in China. The Wikipedia article I linked to states that the puppet regimes only had "nominal control over their own collaborationist army only, but Japanese military officers were authorized to command and transfer any collaborationist army units as they saw fit."

[dedalusdedalus]

I think it's a bit simplistic to pin the "no looting" thing on culture. I daresay it's even borderline racist.

An alternate explanation for the "no looting" phenomenon is that the people left behind in the wake of Katrina were predominantly poor -- they were generally the ones that didn't have a means of transportation out of the city. Then you could also perhaps look at the swiftness of government response -- the Bush administration sat around cradling its dick in its hands, but the Japanese government had more initiative and immediately mobilized the Self-Defense Force.

So between the relatively wealthier population and the swifter gov't response, there was less need to loot in Sendai than in New Orleans.

[Breetai]

I think it's a bit simplistic to pin the "no looting" thing on culture. I daresay it's even borderline racist.

It is pointing out very real differences in culture. Is that borderline racism (generalizing someone or a group based on race?)?

[dedalusdedalus]

I think it's a bit simplistic to pin the "no looting" thing on culture. I daresay it's even borderline racist.

It is pointing out very real differences in culture. Is that borderline racism (generalizing someone or a group based on race?)?

Yeah, the word "racism" taken literally is exactly as you describe -- it's generalizing someone or a group based on race. It's reasonable to argue though that the word has evolved past its original meaning.

I mean, look it up -- according to Wikipedia, the word "racism" as it's used by the United Nations is an umbrella term for racial and ethnic discrimination:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

It's reasonable to postulate that culture is a component of ethnicity, is it not?

[jfrost]

I mostly agree with the reasons people are giving for the Japanese behavior.

I've read some stuff about "wa". As much as I like the Japanese culture, I'd still take most western cultures over it. Even with looting.

[hashiriya1]

Wow, speaking of looting. I guess this might fall under that category. When I lived in Sendai, I always went to the same car mechanic. This is an email from him.

It says:

Thanks Terry (My name is Terrence, but Japanese friends call me "Terry" because it's easier to pronounce)
I was not hurt. I am doing fine.
The gasoline from the cars at the shop was stolen.
It's going to take a while for things to go back to normal.
Thanks for worrying about me, bye bye.

[gtmtnbiker]

So what is looting exactly? If someone takes food from a grocery store because they're really hungry and there's no one around, is that bad? I would say no.
Someone taking a non-essential item like a TV is looting.

I agree with dedalusdedalus's comments on the looting demographics. It's unfortunate that in the US, most of the inner-city poor tend to be african americans. So in the case of Katrina, most of them were getting food/necessities but a number of them got non-essentials like TVs because they were poor and probably didn't have the same upbringing that people in wealthier communities have.

The LA riots were more racial based. The community was predominantly poor and were jealous of the Korean shop owners and hated the authority and when it reached the boiling point, the riots/looting happened.

To reduce the number of looting incidents in the future, we have to reduce the amount of poverty and provide more decent jobs. It's a tough problem to solve.

[Erik_Twice]

Noting the differences between races =/= Racism
Culture =/= Race
Sociological analisis =/= Saying that everyone is the same

EDIT:

Race =/= Nationality

[Zerodash]

It's because the Japanese are mostly good people. Wish I could say the same about other countries. Many people in the USA are selfish mother fuckers who would loot and then receive acclaim from their fellow Americans afterward. Pretty sad indeed.

1) Didn't anyone tell you making moral generalizations about large groups, especially ethnic groups is not only rife with logical fallacy, its also wrong.

2) Saying one race is "superior" is a cornerstone trait of a racist. Good going there.

3) Your generalizations are easily contradicted: explain the Yakuza or the behaviour of Japan toward the Chinese (or POWs) during WWII. The USA didn't exactly collapse into riots and killing after 9-11.

Note: I know people like you will commonly respond to #3 with things like "Are you saying the Japanese are evil and Americans are perfect?". Just stop right there and try to argue rationally.

People are diverse and complex, even in the same society. It absolutely astounds me that a thinking person would even say things like you just did. I'm a newer poster here, but I hope this type of post isn't indicative of the types of people here.

[Breetai]

It's reasonable to postulate that culture is a component of ethnicity, is it not?

It certainly can be, but it is not always the case. All of this stuff really does fall into a grey area where it might be easier to walk through a field of land mines than to openly discuss it sometimes!

explain the Yakuza

They aren't all bad.