Why Is There No Looting In Japan?

By Mike | Thursday, March 17, 2011 | 33 Comments

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japanstoreshelves Why Is There No Looting In Japan? Jack Cafferty, a CNN commentator, noticed something interesting. Amidst the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, there have been no reports of looting. He contrasts that to other recent disasters:

One heart-wrenching byproduct of disasters like this one has been missing in Japan, and that’s looting and lawlessness.

Looting is something we see after almost every tragedy; for example: last year’s earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, the floods in England in 2007, and of course Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

Then he poses the question: Why is there no looting in Japan? Here are my $0.02:

UPDATE: There clearly IS looting in Japan. So take this piece as a wannabe-academic exercise to explain a false phenomenon. Hat tip to commenters oh_snap_its_tom and ErikaHarada for pointing these links out.

It’s the Japanese culture.

The Japanese culture tends to value societal collectivism over individualism. It’s also a highly honorific society that favors rational-secular values, though the latter probably doesn’t have much to do about the lack of looting. Allow me to explain:

Societal Collectivism vs Individualism

Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania publishes a comprehensive cultural study called the GLOBE Study, which is an analysis of cultural, societal, organizational, and leadership differences between 62 different societies around the world. Similar to personality tests such as Myers-Briggs and Keirsey, the GLOBE Study breaks their analysis down into nine cultural dimensions, among other things. The nine are:

Performance orientation
Uncertainty avoidance
Humane orientation
Societal collectivism
In-group collectivism
Assertiveness
Gender egalitarianism
Future orientation
Power distance

Japan is among the highest-rated for societal collectivism and in-group collectivism.

Societal collectivism is:

The degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action.

In-group collectivism is:

The degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations or families.

Japan also rated among the lowest for assertiveness.

In general, collectivist cultures tend to be “we” and “us” cultures. They rank shared goals higher than individual desires and goals, preferring to subordinate personal wishes to those of the relevant social unit.

The United States, in contrast, is on the other end of the spectrum. We have an individualistic culture that is more about “I” and “me.” Priority is given to individual freedom and choice over the collective unit.

In the GLOBE Study, the U.S. also rated among the highest in performance orientation, assertiveness.

Japan’s culture of collectivism is part of the story of why looting is lacking. Looting is a selfish act that improves your well-being at the expense of another’s. On a fundamental level, that’s not in their cultural grain (though I’m sure exceptions exist).

However, I don’t think collectivism is the full story. Reports about looting in the aftermath of China’s Qinghai earthquake in 2010 are sketchy at best. (According to that link, sparse looting did happen, but are further reports of looting being covered up or really did not happen? I haven’t been able to find reports from other collectivist countries.)

An Honorific Society

You can tell a lot about a people by their language. The words in one’s vocabulary subtly influence one’s frame of mind, both in the limits of the vocabulary and grammatical structures and idioms of the language.

Japanese is an honorific language. You use different words in different contexts. Japanese has three main categories of contexts:

Sonkeigo: respectful language
Kenjogo: humble or modest language
Teineigo: polite language

In other words, you could say the same thing in three entirely different ways, depending on who you are addressing. Each has its own vocabulary and verb endings. It is considered disrespectful to use the incorrect form. Not speaking politely enough can be insulting. Speaking too politely can be distancing or seem sarcastic.

With such a fundamental form of communication, it’s not a surprise to see the Japanese culture imbued with respect, politeness and formality. Perhaps this nature saved many lives as well.

The honorific traits of Japanese culture is the other part of the story. But I think it goes a little deeper than 1 + 1 = 2.

Harmony and “Wa”

The word “Wa” is the oldest recorded name of Japan, according to ancient Chinese texts. In the 8th century, Japan change its meaning to be “harmony, peace & balance.” I think that’s a telling change. Also, Wa may have been used in a derogatory way by the Chinese, so it’s not a surprise that it was changed. But it’s the new meaning that I think has some significance.

If you take a culture that holds the group above the individual, and places an importance on respect and politeness, you get a culture that strives for harmony, peace & balance. One could also say you get a culture of “don’t rock the boat,” but every trait can be a double-edged sword.

The international blog Global Sherpa relates several interesting stories about how Wa translates to everyday behavior in Japan:

While visiting and living in Japan, I had several occasions to marvel at the inherent trustworthiness of Japanese strangers. I once accidentally left a book at a Kinko’s near Tokyo station on a business trip. By the time I got back to my hotel down the block and realized the book was missing a short while later, the Kinko’s staff had already returned the book to the hotel’s front desk.

On another trip to Japan, I somehow managed to leave a shirt and the equivalent of about $20 in change in my hotel room. When I returned to the hotel on another trip about six months later, the front desk person promptly pulled out a neatly wrapped plastic package containing everything I had left behind last visit.

It turns out my experience is far from unique. Mikako Kato, a Tokyo magazine editor, lost her wallet five times in 14 years according to a CNN article by Yuki Oda. Every time, the wallet was returned to her, complete with her credit and identification cards and even a “good deal of cash.”

His article is a fascinating account of the Lost and Found collections in Japan.

So why is there no looting in Japan?

Societal collectivism, an honorific nature, and Wa are what I see as the reasons for the lack of looting in the wake of Japan’s earthquake & tsunami.

There are pros and cons to these traits of course. I don’t mean to hold them up as models we all need to follow. The assertiveness and individualism in the U.S. has lead to numerous innovations and advances, arguably leading to our rise as a global superpower. So we must be doing something right.

But to answer Cafferty’s question: It’s the Japanese culture.

[Photo credit: Daily Mail]

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BlasianBytch

Or maybe its because the people are being given supplies and weren’t left to die of exposure by a clumbsy and negligent government.

Also there is looting in Japan, but they are calling it stealing. Just like in Katrina when the middle class found food but the poor and people of color people were looting.
http://bizthoughts.mikelee.org mikeleeorg

@BlasianBytch I’ve been looking for reports about looting, stealing, robberies, and other general crime in Japan, but haven’t been able to find any yet. Could you point me to whatever articles you’ve seen that say this?
http://thylacine.livejournal.com/ ErikaHarada

There is looting in Japan.

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/7885667.html?thread=487207011#t487207011

As a Japanese American with dual citizenship, I can say that in general, most Japanese people are pretty polite culturally. But to say that there is “no looting in Japan” purely because of culture is kind of misguided and is making a HUGE generalization. Like BlasianBytch says, the government was quick to respond. The looting is also “peaceful” because the stores and warehouses were already open and police were not openly hostile to people like they were during Katrina. Plus, people in the area are/were generally middle class and those resources were easily accessible to them.
http://thylacine.livejournal.com/ ErikaHarada

This whole thing smacks of “why can’t those other POC be so polite and ~*~civilized~*~ like these Japanese people?” Woohoo, model minority stereotype (and the whole “uncivilized and scary black/brown folks” stereotypes) to the max!
moye

Japan needs to learn how to loot like we do after the Lakers win the championship.
moye

@ErikaHarada Does the model minority myth still apply in this case when Mike is talking about people in Japan (who aren’t minorities)?
ErikaHarada

@moye I think so, since from an American perspective, East Asia is seen as a smart, financially successful, and uniform monolith.
http://me.mikelee.org/ mikeleeorg

@ErikaHarada Thanks for finding that link. I really tried hard to find some anecdotal stories or data about their being looting in Japan.
http://me.mikelee.org/ mikeleeorg

@ErikaHarada @moye Perhaps my last paragraph didn’t come across strongly enough. I’m definitely not trying to hold up this case as behavior everyone should emulate. This is just an attempt at explaining a phenomenon reported by several sources. I’m totally open to contrary views – and for any good debate, there should be opposing viewpoints.

Moye also pointed out to me an article from Slate on another set of reasons for the lack of looting in Japan (if that’s really true):

http://www.slate.com/id/2288514/

I’d love to see a piece with a contrarian view. Would you, or @BlasianBytch, be interested in writing something up? There’s lots of press about the lack of looting in Japan right now. If you have a strong sense that this is not true, please send something over and I’ll talk to our gracious editors about posting it.
http://angryhapagrrl.wordpress.com/ Bunni

@ErikaHarada The Japanese would probably say that the migrant workers in their country are “looting”. Just sayin’….wouldn’t be surprised if they called the Pilipino workers who are getting food “looters”, especially with their extremely long prejudices toward them.
http://thylacine.livejournal.com/ ErikaHarada

@CrzySxyFangrl69 Well, the right-wingers are definitely saying that stuff. It is NOT a majority opinion though.
http://angryhapagrrl.wordpress.com/ Bunni

@ErikaHarada Isn’t there a resurgence of the right in Japan though? O_O That’s really scary because that would mean increased violence and hatred toward migrant workers…
http://thylacine.livejournal.com/ ErikaHarada

@CrzySxyFangrl69 I don’t live there so I am not sure, but on the boards and such I frequent (and newspapers I read online) the extreme anti-immigrant stuff are coming from the “crazy” people on the right. There is always bias against foreigners, but it is not expressed by most people.
http://thylacine.livejournal.com/ ErikaHarada

@mikeleeorg That is an interesting article.
Thank you for the offer! I will see if I can come up with something this week; am quite busy with work at the moment, but I’ll contact you if I can write up something quick.
Danny_Ahmed

Maybe it’s all about practice and education. A lot of people there (I read on the news), were very informed and did drills on what to do just in case. Almost everyone knows they’re on the same boat.

It shouldn’t be that surprising, if there is extremely little or hardly any looting. Many small towns will do that because of that community spirit. The only thing that amazes people is how Japan is able to do this on an national level. That’s worthy of a ton of respect.
oh_snap_its_tom

English articles on Japan are hard to come by especially with the fast paced news world. But this blog does have links to some articles regarding “looting.”

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/03/why-no-looting-in-japan-ctd-3.html
http://bizthoughts.mikelee.org mikeleeorg

@oh_snap_its_tom Nice find, thanks!
http://me.mikelee.org/ mikeleeorg

@Danny_Ahmed It would be really interesting if someone was able to get accurate statistics on looting after major disasters in various cultures of the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if the statement, “There is no looting in Japan” is false, and it’s more like, “There is less looting in Japan than in other countries.”

But without any hard data, who knows?
http://me.mikelee.org/ mikeleeorg

@ErikaHarada Sweet! I hope you can. It would be a great point/counterpoint series

You know, I’m also wondering if it’s not so much -no- looting is happening, as much as it is just -less- looting than other places. But without any hard data, who knows?

On a related tangent, it would be awesome to have more data on lots of humanity’s actions, a la http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
django

@mikeleeorg Yes, you are open to debate from others opposing your asian supremacist views. But until someone comes up with something, we are better than you still stands. a-hole
moye

@drinkycrow @mikeleeorg Yeah!! Take that, still stands!
ErikaHarada

@drinkycrow @mikeleeorg You made that account just to troll Azns? Lollllllllllllll
http://me.mikelee.org/ mikeleeorg

@ErikaHarada @drinkycrow I have never been pwned as hard as I was just pwned by the insult “still stands.” That one is going to have me lying in bed awake all night long. Trying to figure out what it means.

And, um, still stands to you, drinkycrow!
Boogerhead

Two reasons: (1) the comfort level right before the disaster for a sustained period of time was better in Sendai than in New Orleans and New Orleans was underwater so there was no peaceful waiting it out

(2) ever since the Japanese have tried to deny their WW2 atrocities, they have been on their best behavior and there are more foreign reporters, televised coverage and internet attention so they do not want a documentation of a repeat of the 1923 Kanto earthquake’s ethnic slaughter.
Boogerhead

I went to school with Haitians and Africans and South Americans and Filipinos and they are way more Westernized, socialized and emotionally mature than the Chinese of the same generation. I’m not carrying the banner to defend them. I’m just using my experiences and what I see are facts about the people I have met in every day life. The aforementioned groups are way more modern than Chinese and Koreans that I have met despite our occasionally meteoric rise career-wise. The aforementioned groups aren’t slick socially but they are certainly more comfortable and adept in my opinion. Those kinds of people are not barbarians. Anyone who has seen a travel show in Africa either West or East must have noticed how refined the locals are despite their difficult environment. I recommend the documentary BABIES for an interesting comparison of who is innately broadminded and wise. I think that we forget that people who are poor are just not as lucky but we are not superior because we were born into a country where the plumbing already works and the lights work even though we personally had no hand in laying the sewage lines or installing the electricity.
GoGo

@mikeleeorg @ErikaHarada @drinkycrow not to contribute to his trolling, but i think he meant, “‘we are better than you’ still stands.” i just hate poor punctuation.
Fia

I do think looting exists, but maybe not the kind we are familiar with.

There was an incident in my dad’s home town a few years ago when I was very young. A mud slide that covered a few buildings and major roads. There was no way out. Help couldn’t come for another day or two. I can’t remember why. I think the heavy rain made it impossible?

Three women and one man were like “If you don’t let us take what we need, we will never shop here and speak to your family again” to the only shop owner in town. Peer pressure, passive aggressiveness and emotional blackmail were used during this discussion. The shop owner stepped down and opened up the shop to let these four people take what they want without paying. As compensation for refusing to open up the shop or something.

A couple of years ago, there was a group of college-age men who broke into a shop and helped themselves some goods during a flash flood in one town. When the owner caught them, they sort of bullied him into agreeing to let them leave with the goods. But they later were arrested and charged.

None of them took without the owners’ so-called permission, but I felt each incident was an act of looting because these owners gave permission under duress. I don’t know how common or uncommon this kind is, though.
http://me.mikelee.org/ mikeleeorg

@Fia Interesting story. That seems to gel with the general lack of assertiveness in the overall Japanese culture. Of course, arguably, the “looters” in those stories sure displayed assertiveness…
Danny_Ahmed

@mikeleeorg @oh_snap_its_tom I watched an Hong Kong news commentary talking about the “cohesive” strength of the Japanese in this disaster. It mentioned that given the magnitude of the damages and how impressive the people are still trying to make it through, that even if there were a few cases of looting or other bad things happening; no one in the world would blame them or see them (the Japanese) any less noble than they already dealing with these conditions.
Danny_Ahmed

@mikeleeorg @oh_snap_its_tom Just want to mention that I’m not trying to justified the looting or bad things, I’m just saying that the relatively few thorns in the society won’t ruin the overall image the Japanese people have as a whole.
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Waikikinme

http://badboyinjapan.blogspot.com/2011/03/post-earthquake-looting-in-japan.html

Please stop making woefully incorrect generalizations…please
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