[Strategerist]

That's amazing about the people of Kobe. Aren't the Japanese mostly Shintoist and Buddhist? Maybe their religion has something to do with the way they handle crises. They are a very disciplined people.

The people of Kobe in their earthquake were magnificent; spontaneously self-organized.

However the Japanese government made a total botch of handling the quake; one Japanese minister later committed suicide.

They'd over-focused earthquake preparations on the Tokyo region, and also, they were tremendously overconfident; they did a lot of rote "earthquake drills" where people went through the motions but they really weren't learning anything.

[Lessismore]

However the Japanese government made a total botch of handling the quake; one Japanese minister later committed suicide.

A tradition that should be followed by the mayor and the governor.