Potpourri of post-quake crimes contradicts foreign media's reporting of placid Japanese
TOKYO — Following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, Japanese in the disaster-stricken areas were praised in the foreign media for their sang froid and sense of decorum. Unfortunately, reports Shukan Gendai (Nov 26), not everyone was so noble. In fact, crimes did occur. We know this because the culprits have been apprehended and prosecuted for their misdeeds. The following are just a few of the cases introduced in the article. In late March, a group of six young males set off in Sendai’s Wakabayashi-ku around three in the morning. Holding flashlights, they broke into an abandoned two-story residential building in an area that had been hit by the tsunami. In addition to 12,000 yen in cash, they made off with a TV set, snowboard, and other items that could be easily sold for cash. The thieves, realizing their car had been spotted by a neighborhood patrol traveling in the opposite direction, attempted to discard their booty by throwing it from the car window. It was later learne