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During a state of emergency it is not unusual to hear about looting, so why
have there been very few reports of this in Japan? Commentators from across the
media have their say.
It's not possible to list them all but reports of looting during disasters are
commonplace, like current reports from GNN Liberia on Liberian mercenaries
being accused of looting in Ivory Coast.
In the UK there have also been incidents, like Exeter's Express and Echo's
report of people scavenging motorbikes on the Devon coast back in 2007, when
the contents of a container ship were washed ashore. In the same year, police
investigated reports of looting at flood-hit properties in West Yorkshire.
The absence of stories of this kind has been noted by writers around the world.
Slate's Christopher Beam says there's more to the lack of looting than honesty.
He says that Japanese people are more honest than most, but adds the Japanese
legal structure rewards honesty more than most.
His other theories why there isn't any looting in Japan include the police
presence and organised crime. "Police aren't the only ones on patrol since the
earthquake hit," he says. "Members of Yakuza, Japan's organised crime
syndicate, have been enforcing order."
Continue reading the main story
Start Quote
It sounds grotesque to say we should see reasons for hope as we watch in real
time while the earth is shaken six inches on its axis
End Quote Johann Hari Independent columnist
The Voice Of America's Steve Herman has been in Japan. He describes the country
as "slowly grinding to a halt", which he puts down to traditional Japanese
stoicism.
"There's a touch of bitterness in a few voices and some subtle signs of
frustration but no show of open anger," he says.
The nearest Mr Herman gets to suggesting anyone taking advantage of the
disaster is when he speculates that a black economy in rationed goods may rise
up. To back up his prediction, Mr Herman cites the time this happened in the
days after Japan's defeat in World War II.
The idea that the Japanese are acting in some way against the grain in an
emergency situation is challenged by columnist Johann Hari in the UK's
Independent. He says the panicking disaster victim is a myth. He argues that in
reality the vast majority of people behave in the aftermath as altruists,
saving their fellow human beings and sharing what they have. He goes on to say
the same predictions are made about every disaster.
People taking a motorbike off the beach Opportunists made the most of
motorbikes washed up on the Devon coast
"Once the lid of a tightly policed civilization is knocked off for a second,
humans will become beasts. But the opposite is the case. It sounds grotesque to
say we should see reasons for hope as we watch in real time while the earth is
shaken six inches on its axis, tsunamis roar, and nuclear power stations teeter
on meltdown. But it is true."
This, for Mr Hari, is proof enough to "kill off right-wing ideologies based on
the belief that humans are inherently selfish".
But US blogger Andrew Sullivan's readers have been disputing the story there is
not looting in Japan. They've been sending in examples.
According to a commenter on Mr Sullivan's blog the Daily Dish, who has been
reading Japanese reports, they don't seem to be translated into English or
reported on English language news sites.
But, the commenter translates an article in Japan's 47 News citing 40 known
cases of looting in Miyagi.