Japanese honesty emerges from shadow of tsunami
by Pino Cazzaniga
Around 48 million dollars found among the rubble and debris, all handed over to the police. Government ponders "burying" polluted material sufficient to fill 23 football stadiums. Shopping with the Geiger counter to measure radiation.
Tokyo (AsiaNews) - The great earthquake of 11 March and the subsequent tsunami have revealed the fragility of the government, but also the strength of the Japanese people.
Now the inherent honesty of the Japanese people is increasingly emerging. In the living room of a house destroyed by the merciless tsunami, a resident found an envelope without an address floating on the water: inside notes were worth 40 thousand U.S. dollars, on top of a pile of rubble, a woman saw a wallet containing Japanese banknotes to the value of 26 thousand. There have been numerous similar cases. All this money was handed over to police.
According to Koetsu Saiki the officer in charge for the collection of valuables and money, banknotes to the tune of 48 million dollars found by private citizens were handed over to police.
Los Angeles Times journalist Tom Coulton comments: "Altruism and honesty among different cultures are difficult to measure and compare, but in 2003 a law professor at the University of Michighan made a comparative study on the restitution of property lost in the United States and Japan. The professor left 20 wallets on a Tokyo street and 20 on a street in New York, containing the same amount of money. In New York, he said, six wallets with money and two empty were handed in ( to the police). In Tokyo, 17 out of 20 were handed in, and all the people who found them, except one, waived the right to claim the money if the owner was not found. "
Saiki also said that the case that has moved he most was not about money, but a photograph album a woman was found among the debris. When the owner saw the pictures he burst into tears, his family and his house were destroyed by the tsunami and the photos of that album found in a safe are now his only physical link with his family. "
People even try to deal the nuclear crisis with the same calm. The earthquake and tusanmi fact have damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, which has leaked radioactive material. The land and the sea in the vicinity of Fukushima are contaminated by radiation harmful to human life. The anxiety of the population is understandable.
In the restaurants of Kobe, a city famous for its high quality of its beef, the attendants are quick to assure customers that the meat served is imported from Australia, the same policy at any sushi restaurant for tuna .
Many Tokyo citizens have purchased the Geiger counters, which they bring with them when they go into grocery stores.
The government has scheduled the removal of foliage and 5 cm of soil polluted by the end of the year. It has been calculated that the amount of material collected and "buried" equals 23 times the volume of the "Tokyo Dome", the famous indoor stadium, built to hold 55 thousand spectators.
The "great earthquake in the north-east", as the March 11 disaster is termed in Japan, was an appalling tragedy, which resulted in around 20 thousand dead or "missing", 800 thousand buildings destroyed, 400 thousand refugees .
Now the inherent honesty of the Japanese people is increasingly emerging. In the living room of a house destroyed by the merciless tsunami, a resident found an envelope without an address floating on the water: inside notes were worth 40 thousand U.S. dollars, on top of a pile of rubble, a woman saw a wallet containing Japanese banknotes to the value of 26 thousand. There have been numerous similar cases. All this money was handed over to police.
According to Koetsu Saiki the officer in charge for the collection of valuables and money, banknotes to the tune of 48 million dollars found by private citizens were handed over to police.
Los Angeles Times journalist Tom Coulton comments: "Altruism and honesty among different cultures are difficult to measure and compare, but in 2003 a law professor at the University of Michighan made a comparative study on the restitution of property lost in the United States and Japan. The professor left 20 wallets on a Tokyo street and 20 on a street in New York, containing the same amount of money. In New York, he said, six wallets with money and two empty were handed in ( to the police). In Tokyo, 17 out of 20 were handed in, and all the people who found them, except one, waived the right to claim the money if the owner was not found. "
Saiki also said that the case that has moved he most was not about money, but a photograph album a woman was found among the debris. When the owner saw the pictures he burst into tears, his family and his house were destroyed by the tsunami and the photos of that album found in a safe are now his only physical link with his family. "
People even try to deal the nuclear crisis with the same calm. The earthquake and tusanmi fact have damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, which has leaked radioactive material. The land and the sea in the vicinity of Fukushima are contaminated by radiation harmful to human life. The anxiety of the population is understandable.
In the restaurants of Kobe, a city famous for its high quality of its beef, the attendants are quick to assure customers that the meat served is imported from Australia, the same policy at any sushi restaurant for tuna .
Many Tokyo citizens have purchased the Geiger counters, which they bring with them when they go into grocery stores.
The government has scheduled the removal of foliage and 5 cm of soil polluted by the end of the year. It has been calculated that the amount of material collected and "buried" equals 23 times the volume of the "Tokyo Dome", the famous indoor stadium, built to hold 55 thousand spectators.
The "great earthquake in the north-east", as the March 11 disaster is termed in Japan, was an appalling tragedy, which resulted in around 20 thousand dead or "missing", 800 thousand buildings destroyed, 400 thousand refugees .
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