My university participated in an exchange program. Japanese students would come over and teach Japanese at the college level in exchange for obtaining their Masters. I became friends with them and if I remember correctly, the Japanese culture is all about being polite, etc. It’s hard for me to explain. Certain things just are not done because you do not want to bring shame to your family. Another example is that as a woman, you could be groped on a train. But you don’t react in any way because it would be considered inappropriate to react. It has to do with their culture and beliefs. So looting would be considered really bad.

Someone else mentioned pets. Pets are highly regarded as well. One of the Japanese teachers said her mom treats her dog better than she does her. lol

That’s what I understand as well from what Michelle has said. I also don’t think that there is anything left to loot anyway – it looks like total devastation in some of those places…so sad.

While I would hesitate to say that there’s absolutely no looting going on in the aftermath of the earthquake, I do believe that the Japanese citizens’ response to the disaster is indeed something to learn from and respect.