Who knew... ?

... that lost money in Japan is almost always found and even ten yen (EIGHT CENTS) gets turned into the police?

A few weeks ago, Ethan wasn't home from school yet.  He was a bit later than usual and I had just said to Ryan that I was starting to get a little worried when my cell phone rang. I answered it and it was the police.  Not a good sign.  The policeman goes on to explain a long story (all in Japanese, of course) and it makes so little sense that I am quite certain that I have not understood correctly.  I *think* he has told me that he's calling from the neighborhood police station, Ethan is there, and that he found ten yen on the way home from school, everything is fine and they are currently filling out the paperwork.  Oh yeah, and that if no one claims it, Ethan can come back and get the ten yen in April.  Wait - that can't possibly right.  Before everyone thinks that Ethan has hit the jackpot...Ten yen?  That's EIGHT CENTS!

Then, the policeman puts Ethan on the phone.  Ethan tells me exactly the same story, with the added detail that they first asked a shop nearby if the 10 yen belonged to them, and they told him to return it to the police station.  Let me repeat this - TEN YEN, that is EIGHT CENTS!

So, Ethan comes home a little later with an envelope containing a form, filled out in triplicate, that clearly states the TEN YEN (let me remind you one more time, that is EIGHT CENTS) can be claimed in April.

The police paperwork...

It's one of those "only in Japan" moments.  You know, like when people set down their iphone or their laptop to save a table in a cafe.  Not an umbrella, not a jacket - an iphone and a laptop, and then they walk 50 feet away to stand in line to buy a coffee!

This little story also highlights the differences between Ethan and Ryan.

Ryan found a 1,000 yen note ($8) on the street a few months ago in the middle of a rainstorm.  He brought it home, dried it off, and well .... he pocketed it quite happily.  Not another word about it.  Until.... we had some Japanese friends over for dinner that night .... and the father is a police officer ... and Ryan proceeds to brag about it ... and they tell us that a Japanese person would have taken it to the police station. I'm pretty sure that was the moment that precluded any further family social events.  In Ryan's defense, it was pouring down rain when he found it (and I surely wasn't in the mood for trekking to the police station)!

And then Kevin comes across this gem in his newsfeed recently - "Tokyo citizens hand in $28m in lost cash: police."  And it turns out that 74% of the cash is returned to its rightful owner. I sure hope that person gets his/her TEN YEN back (that's EIGHT CENTS, people!).

Check out the full article here - http://news.yahoo.com/tokyo-citizens-hand-28m-lost-cash-police-071208809.html

... that loud kids are illegal in Tokyo? 

Remember when we first arrived in Tokyo and all four of us were astounded by how quiet it was all the time.  Everywhere.  Even at the playground.  And our kids weren't always so quiet.  Turns out we were BREAKING THE LAW.  And see - we really were not exaggerating!

How's this for a headline? Tokyo may allow children to make noise for the first time in fifteen years.  This headline is taken directly from the Independent - no joke. See link below.

Pretty sure our noise level was illegal on this day - it was Ryan's 7th birthday party!

Seriously?  Seriously?  There's even a graph - the black line is 45 decibles, which is the legally permitted noise level.  So bird calls are ok, but just barely.  And a CONVERSATION AT HOME is over the limit.  Maybe that explains why actual communication seems to be such a cultural struggle?!?

To be fair, the US has some pretty darn ridiculous laws as well.  In my "research" for this blog post, I learned that it is illegal to carry an ice cream in your back pocket in Alabama. So, I think the US may very well "win" the "you gotta be kidding me - is this really a law?" contest.

Read the full article here - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tokyo-may-allow-children-to-make-noise-for-the-first-time-in-fifteen-years-10092927.html

... that 60 years of failure = unintended success? Or how there's really never anything negative in Japan, never ever - at least not out loud?

I may be the ONLY person who thinks this is funny.  And I'm ok with that.  I'm also willing to take the risk of sharing it with you, and you all discovering what an odd sense of humor I have.  Nothing risked, nothing gained, I suppose.

So I was reading a paper from the JICA Research Institute - JICA stands for the Japan International Cooperation Agency and is a bit like the Japanese version of USAID.  And I came across this sentence:

"The very continuation of such failure for the past 60 years should also be viewed as achieving something successfully, if unintended."

Ummm.... interesting spin. And sure, why not? 60 years of failure = unintended success?  Ummm...ok.  

Totally reminded me of when I worked with the San Jose Fire Department many years ago and the new Fire Chief explained to me (only somewhat jokingly) that the fire department is known for having "300 years of tradition unimpeded by progress."  Sounds a little familiar.  

... that 95% of school lunches are fish? (from Ethan, who doesn't like fish)

From Ethan:  This really stinks because I have to eat fish almost every day.  

The display case for today's lunch at the kids' school

Ryan's first grade class at lunch - with the lunch helpers in their stylish pink uniforms
(which the moms get to wash and iron on the weekends and return on Mondays- I HATE it when my kids are the lunch helpers)