I love Amy Chavez's Dec. 24 Japan Lite column, "" How wonderful it would be if the whole world were to behave like many Japanese as a social norm.
I was amazed during my visit to Hokkaido last winter. I saw an old lady spill her cup of coffee at a bus station. Despite the cold, she went to a dispensing machine, bought three packets of disposable tissues and started to clean up her spill on the bench and even on the floor. This would never have happened anywhere else in the world. Most culprits would have ran off or pretended that the spill wasn't theirs, waiting for the cleaners to clean up the mess.
My friends and I were amazed and wonder what makes the Japanese people so socially conscious. Chavez's article has enlightened me on Japanese culture inasmuch as I aspire to do the same in my life. It would make the world a wonderful place to live in if everyone made the effort to do the same.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.