I left My Laptop In My Car

I had just gotten home from work on an early Friday evening. I picked up some McDonalds on my way home, trying to reward myself for the week, even if it wasn’t quite over. I was working tomorrow too, my first (and hopefully only) six day work week. Maybe a little scatterbrained, or maybe just being my usual forgetful self, I forgot to bring my laptop into my apartment. 

As I walked in the door I realized my mistake, and resolved to go grab it after I finished eating my dinner. Once I finished my dinner, I kicked that can further down the road. Oh, I’ll grab it when I do my convenience store run I promised. Eventually, this just became, oh I’m sure it’ll be fine. 

While this was certainly laziness on my part, I was actually fairly confident it wouldn’t get stolen. Japan often ranks among the list of safest countries in the world. I can happily say Canada also often ranks on this list, but always below Japan. Which in many ways is incredible given that Japan has almost 3 times the population of Canada in a massively smaller country. British Columbia alone is about twice the size of Japan. They have 3 times the population in a much smaller area, and still have better crime statistics almost across the board. 

No matter how much I heard about how safe Japan is, or that you can just leave your belongings out in the open and no one will touch them, I was slow to believe it. It wasn’t until one night out I was charging my phone while hoping for a room at an internet cafe that I put this to the test. I had to use the bathroom, but didn’t want to unplug my phone, so I decided to leave it there. 

I wasn’t sure how long I would be, and people tend to come and go from the lobby of a place like an internet cafe. It seemed like a place where things might go missing if you weren’t careful. This was practically the opposite of careful. But, as I climbed back up the stairs and returned to my spot, there was my phone, right where I left it. I was both surprised and relieved, surprised I even took this chance, but relieved that nothing had happened. 

In Canada, many years ago, I left my bag in my car by accident as I walked around the park with a friend. I realized about halfway through the walk, but hoped that it would be alright. When I got back to my car, I was sorely mistaken. The passenger window had been smashed and my bag had been stolen. I was angry of course, but I also blamed myself for leaving a valuable item out in the open. 

I had barely walked in the door after dropping off my friend when I got a call. It was my bank calling to verify a suspicious transaction. Whoever it was that took my wallet was trying to transfer around 700$ from my account. I let them know what happened and they canceled my cards. I almost never carry cash, and with my cards shut down whoever stole my stuff got maybe 40$ and a nice bag for their crimes. 

I didn’t even bother reporting this to the police, there wasn’t really a point. The park had no cameras, and this is considered an exceedingly minor crime. It was frustrating that someone would break my car window and steal my stuff for such little gain, but they saw an opportunity and took it. 

Yet here in Japan, I created a golden opportunity to steal a phone, a much more valuable item, and no one even touched it. It really feels emblematic of the culture that’s been created here in Japan. It’s difficult for me to pin down what exactly leads to this kind of culture, but I certainly admire it. If you lose your wallet here in Japan, you’re far more likely to see it returned to you than you are to never see it again. That’s practically unthinkable in Canada, if you lose your wallet you expect to never see it again. 

According to police data, here in Japan 73.2% of found cash is returned to its owner. Apparently, there’s a Lost Goods Law that “obligates” people to quickly return lost items to the owner or submit it to the police. Upon returning it to the owner, they are “obligated” to provide a reward between 5% and 20% of the value. However, many people don’t know about these obligations, and won’t ask for a reward since they acted out of good intentions. This law was news to me! 

Canada doesn’t really have any laws regarding lost items, and operates much closer to a “finders keepers” value system. Once, after standing up to leave a movie theater, I spotted a phone lying on the ground. I stood off to the side of the aisle and wondered what to do. I waited for a bit to see if the person would return, or thought about seeing if the theater had lost a found. At the same time, it crossed my mind that I could simply pocket the phone. They left it on the ground, I could reasonably claim I found it abandoned and now it was mine. 

In this case, the person returned, and I gave them the phone. I felt good about returning it, but also a bit disappointed since I had no phone of my own at the time. Usually when I lose an item, especially a valuable one, I don’t expect to ever see it again. I left my DS on a plane once, I had put it in the seat pocket, and forgotten about it. Even after calling the airport and the airline multiple times, it was never returned to me. My parents speculated that maybe a flight attendant had taken it for their kids, or the next passenger found it and kept it. 

I couldn’t be angry, because it was my fault for losing it in the first place. Here in Japan though, it feels like I’ve been shown a different possibility. Maybe lost things can be returned more often than not, if we try and create a culture that values that. Japanese culture has a greater focus on the collective, that people prosper together. Finding an item and returning it falls in line with that idea, you want to do something good for another so that you can both be better off. 

Canada, while less than America, still has a higher emphasis on the individual. We tend to look out more for ourselves or smaller communities, rather than think about the greater collective. This isn’t to try and paint Canadian or Japanese culture as superior or inferior, it’s just an interesting contrast. I don’t always think this greater emphasis on the collective is positive, but in this case, I’d say it has led to some very positive outcomes. 

So, while I left my laptop in my car once, and had no repercussions, I doubt I’ll make a habit of it. If I get too used to leaving valuables out in the open, it’ll almost certainly come back to bite me once I return to Canada. While it would be nice to count on others not to wrong you and steal your stuff, I’d rather not give them the chance in the first place. Even here in Japan old habits die hard, and I’ll likely continue to keep my valuables on my person, even if I’m just going for a bathroom break. 

It’s unfortunate that western culture made me more distrustful of others. Japanese culture shows me that this doesn't need to be the case. But unless we were going to radically adjust our cultural values, and reinforce them starting at a young age, I don’t see it changing anytime soon. It’s another stark contrast that showcases just how different people can be depending on the culture that they exist in. Japan isn’t perfect, and crime still happens of course, but it certainly feels a lot safer and I’ve really relished that feeling.