Originally Posted by CommuterRun
One reason there's very little theft or other crime in Japan, compared to the U.S., is that over there, concepts like "Honor" and "Shame" still have meaning, but this is going away as they become more Americanized.
Of course the stressed placed on each individual by their social structure is why they have a higher suicide rate.
Oh, puhleez, spare us the Far East stereotypes
There's a huge amount of crime in Japan- most of it just happens to be very well organised and hidden rather than petty and obvious. Playing Spot-the-Yakuza quickly loses its novelty value in cheap restaurants.
Speaking of Tokyo- I had a friend who used to commute to work on the roads. People though he was nuts, and so did I after he was hit twice in six months.