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My son was stationed in Japan for the past three years. (They recently returned to the States.) He and his family loved being there and really didn’t want to come home! They love and respect the Japanese people for all the reasons posted above. Seeing the Japanese response to this trifecta of tragedy for myself is heartbreaking and inspirational.

I do believe there are still rural areas in this country (like where I live now) where the response would be similar to Japan. However, based on what I’ve personally seen and experienced in the aftermath of Rodney King and Katrina, I know very well what would happen in Detroit, NOLA, Watts, etc. That is also heartbreaking.

I lived in Japan (Okinawa) for a time. I loved and respected the culture then, and am even more impressed now. I hope to have the opportunity to move back there someday.

BTW, I am in the process of teaching myself Japanese (on and off for many years, but more deliberately over the past couple of months) and would appreciate any guidance/recommendations/resources that anyone here could provide.

Japan will prove to be a model for the entire world to take inspiration from. Meanwhile, NOLA will still continue people to feel compelled to scrape the bottom of the shoes whenever they are mentioned.

During & after the recent massive floods in QLD/Australia I saw great community spirit here as well - people who didn’t know each other were volunteering to help one another any way they could. QLD govt’s response particularly the leadership demonstrated by the QLD Premier in managing the crisis was pretty good too (I’d say 8 out of 10).

I think the Japanese are much more disciplined & stoic. Sense of honour & nationalism are much stronger in Japan especially among older generations. I have a Japanese friend (an Architect) whom I’ve known for the past 15 yrs. She lives in Australia, tho her family is in Osaka. On a number of occasions, her family invited me to visit Osaka - thoroughly enjoyed that. I’ve the impression that the Japanese don’t make friends as easily or quickly (especially with foreigners) as, say, an Australian or an American would. But, once they do, friendship is not only important to the person but also to his/her family. Also, my Japanese friend tells me that the Japanese don’t consider themselves “Asians”. Nonetheless, every culture/nation has its strengths & weaknesses. Same applies to the Japanese.