What is the most Japanese thing ever? \ stacker news ~meta

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471 sats \ 7 comments \ @HowardisMe 27 Sep 2023 meta

My friend and I were walking down a street when I noticed a 1 yen coin on the sidewalk. I pointed at it and picked it up thinking it was a lucky find.

Three steps later my friend stopped. She said she’d prefer to put it back, and explained how in Japan they believe that when someone loses something it’s possible they will come back looking for it, so nobody takes anything that doesn’t belong to them. Not even a cent someone dropped on the street.

I felt embarrassed and immediately put it back.

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454 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 27 Sep 2023

Japanese toilets

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bitman 27 Sep 2023

They're truly awsome (wash you, dry you and even play a sound when you're feeling explosive).

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @chungkingexpress 27 Sep 2023

Mostly true, just don’t leave your bicycle unlocked in Tokyo.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @ceife 27 Sep 2023

Weeboo

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @carlosfandango 29 Sep 2023

Interacting with a bot… instead of an actual person

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bitman 27 Sep 2023

•Those (usually older) people with hard hats and what I can only describe as a light saber at constuction sites.

•Vending machines at every corner

•No public bins on the street (but spotless)

•Taxi drivers wearing white gloves

BTW, for context, one yen = $0.007 or 0.00,000,025 BTC

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Dash_1971 27 Sep 2023

"nobody takes anything that doesn't belong to them" is quite the stretch. It's true that people don't tend to steal and that things dropped on the street are often treated as though they should be returned to the rightful owner but that is not 100% the case. Like in the US there are "good" people and "bad". Also like in the US there are those who are "good" when others are looking and maybe not so "good" otherwise. Also I have seen wallets etc. handed to the police in the west so it's not a uniquely Japanese thing, although maybe the likelihood is indeed higher in Japan.

Also, the cost benefit of 1jpy vs having the chance to impress a friend is quite low. It would be interesting to see how your friend would react to seeing a 10,000jpy note on an empty street walking home one night when nobody was looking. Maybe she'd "leave it for the rightful owner to come back and get it". But maybe not. Different cost benefit analysis in that case.