The Monday Read: Japan is a high trust society

It’s one of the best things about living here

Last Saturday I realised I didn’t have my wallet.

Looked for it everywhere. Didn’t find it. Was calm at first but the longer I looked the less calm I felt.

It had some cash in it (meh). My cashcard (yikes). A credit card (not sure which one). A whole bunch of hospital cards.

My health insurance card. My Number card.

The cash I could live without. Cancelling all the other cards and getting them replaced would take weeks. Dozens if not hundreds of hours.

Ugh.

I don’t really go to many places, so I checked my jiu-jitsu gym, the public gym I go to, a local supermarket. None of them had it.

Then I called the police. They didn’t have it either, so I filed a lost item report with them

Then I tried the other local supermarket. Who had it. Apparently someone found it in the parking lot and handed it in.

It still had all my cards. And the 53,000 yen in cash.

The person who handed it in left their name and address, so I am guessing they would like to receive a reward. The standard (legal) amount is 5-20% of the cash, so 2,500-10,000 yen. In the end I decided to send them gift vouchers for the supermarket and a thank you note. They live almost next door to the supermarket so I am guessing they shop there regularly.

There is a lot I like about Japan, and this kind of thing being normal is a big part of it.

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This week’s books

Still reading Burn, by Herman Pontzer, about metabolism and calories. You can see a long-form interview with him here if that’s more your thing. The book is pretty interesting and quite readable, especially for someone in the middle of long-term dietary changes.

Also the latest Cormoran Strike novel, The Running Grave, by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling. It’s good. Made me want to have the cult talk with my granddaughter.

And also Zen Jiu-Jitsu Over 40, by Oliver Staark. Good stuff, if you are over 40 and into Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

This week’s links

1. Horrendous: Japan quake, flood victim attempts fresh start with wife’s memory
2. Incredible scenes: Weather tracker: Extensive flooding in Japan after ‘unprecedented’ rainfall
3. Encouraging. Seems economics will win where policy falters: Even Solar Energy’s Biggest Fans Are Underestimating It
4. Unbelievable that she is out already. Japan seems to oscillate between incredibly harsh and incredibly lenient in its judicial system: TAKAOKA YŪKA STABBING INCIDENT: Aftermath
5. This was interesting (YouTube): $6000 house in Japan: one year later paying just $150 a year tax
6. Grim. Made me want to save more for retirement! (YouTube) Japan’s Seniors Living in Poverty: No Electricity, No Housing, Unable to Retire
7. It’s never too late: What to do if you left it late to start investing
8. Horrendous. At least it is getting media attention. Hopefully we’ll see less of this going forward: Japanese man who spent 46 years on death row cleared of murders
9. I am baffled by how annoying they have made it to use My Number cards for health visits (you have to re-register every single time): How Taro Kono lost his mojo
10. Being at peace requires giving up on some things: Never Quite Enough
11. An optimistic look at AI and the future for a change: The Intelligence Age
12. Good news for stockholders? Arbitrators Hand Victory to Nippon Steel
13. This is a shocking video (YouTube): Brutal Reality of Public School Teachers in Japan
14. Lower than Japan, eh? Canada’s fertility rate has hit a record low. What’s behind the drop?
15. Another Derek Sivers classic: Wealth = Have ÷ Need
16. I wonder who wins this race: Meta, Apple, or someone else? Meta’s big tease
17. Ooof: Lose All Your Money
18. Extremely thought-provoking: The Great Rotation
19. Worth a read if you are nearing retirement: Retiring Smarter
20. Not enough, and too late, but better than nothing I guess: Japan to address issue of foreign trainees quitting in record numbers
    

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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