Weekend heartwarmer: "Claim your DS!"

by Jonti Davies { Jan 21st 2007 at 2:00AM }

If you're depressed by recent tales of Wii-related death and injury, allow us to assuage your pain with a DS-related feel-good story from Japan (where else?). Kansai, Japan's Funky 802FM radio station yesterday interrupted its 24-hour funk regimen for DJ Mark'E (pictured) to make an important announcement: a stray Nintendo DS had been found in a park in Kyoto's Fushimi-ku ward. Some upstanding citizen had found the handheld and taken it to a nearby police box (they have "police boxes" in Japan), rightly assuming that a small child had dropped the DS. (This is a land where you can drop your wallet and expect it to be returned.)

Thanks to DJ Mark'E's repeated announcements, child and DS were reunited yesterday evening, tears were mopped, and this blogger was left wondering how the scenario would have played out in his native England. (Clue: no tears would have been mopped, but the finder would have celebrated with an exclamation of "bloody hell, what a freebie!") Three cheers, then, for Japanese citizens' sense of honour and stuff.

Tags: DJ Mark'E, DjMark'e, DS, Japan, Kyoto, police

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

DB @ Jan 21st 2007 2:15AM

frankly I find the suggestion that common courtesy is nonexistent in england a little bit offensive and ethnocentric

Kimosabae @ Jan 21st 2007 2:35AM

I've witnessed a returned wallet in America (mine)!

Money and credit cards were mysteriously absent, however...

-Syn

Motoi @ Jan 21st 2007 2:35AM

Lets be real here DB. Japan is one of the most honest and generous nations as far as returning lost belongings go. I remember leaving some valuables on a subway train once, and even two hours later, I found that someone had returned it to the help desk. You wouldn't find that in America for sure.

Craziness @ Jan 21st 2007 2:38AM

I find those undertones in the article to be offensive as well.

The fact is an "honest" person found the DS. There are actually honest people outside of Japan.
If an honest person found the DS in the USA, England or anywhere else, the story would've ended the same.

Rubang B @ Jan 21st 2007 2:39AM

I think that if this happened in the U.S., even with a DJ announcing it over the air and people looking for the kid, you'd just get 50 kids all saying "I'm Spartacus."

SSUK @ Jan 21st 2007 2:59AM

#1: Dude, problem is it's true. =/

SuperJumpMan @ Jan 21st 2007 3:12AM

Hmmmm... It is kinda offensive/true, but why'd they put in the "Bloody hell, a freebie!"

quazi @ Jan 21st 2007 3:21AM

i for one would have kept the ds

hey at least im honest enough to admit it
finders keepers unless its my loss the keeper finds lol
yay hypocrisy

Craziness @ Jan 21st 2007 3:27AM

The last time I was in Japan: All of the cars and homes had locks. Businesses had security and I even saw police walking down the street in Tokyo.

Ever heard of Yakuza? You know, that organized gang of DS returners.

I will say that the streets in Tokyo are extrememly clean. But, stray off the tourist hot spots and you'll see that Japan is just the same as every other country in the world.

PS I've had my wallet returned (money and cards intact) and my pager returned and this was in the USA.

Rubang B @ Jan 21st 2007 3:39AM

A friend of mine lost her wallet at the beach. Somebody found it, but didn't have time to return it, as they were visiting and just heading back to France. They took my friend's wallet all the way to France and then mailed it back to her, with all the money still inside, along with a friendly letter explaining why it took so long. BOOM, wallet and money found, and new French penpal, all at once.

siro @ Jan 21st 2007 4:14AM

My "getting things returned"-rate is higher in Germany than in Japan (0/1). Still more returners in Japan, no question.

FinalDelerium @ Jan 21st 2007 5:16AM

Found a digital camera a little while ago at a cafe. Asked the cafe staff if they knew whose it was and they said no, but offered to hold onto it.

I left my friends at the cafe, mid meal, and I took it to the police instead, spent a few minutes giving them details and as i did, the owners walked in. They were thankful and when i got back i found that they had actually covered the cost of my meal while i had been gone.

Honesty pays people.

NoHitHair @ Jan 21st 2007 6:13AM

#1 & #4:

You're absolutely right - cultural and societal differences exist nowhere. What one society emphasizes over another is irrelevant and all people are equal in attitudes and philosophies no matter where you go.

Obviously, the smartest thing to do is bury your heads in the sand instead of recognizing and building from negative and positive qualities of a culture.

otakucode @ Jan 21st 2007 7:02AM

I fail to understand people so desperate for an undeserved acquisition of any kind that they would be willing rationalize picking up a lost item and keeping it.

If attempting to return it or turn it in to some authority is too 'difficult', then simply leave it where it lays. Sure, someone else might take it. That is none of your concern as you can't control what anyone else does, but you have absolute control and responsibility over what you do.

Vlad @ Jan 21st 2007 8:04AM

interestingly, I am in Tokyo right now and i found a copy of Nintendogs lying on the ground. I put it in my DS and felt really bad for the person who lost it...I`ll have to look for one of these "Police boxes". I think the cart has a name on it (...I can`t read Japanese...baka gaijin) so maybe the cops will figure it out.

ripperrim @ Jan 21st 2007 8:21AM

#4, It probably wouldnt play out the same,a couple months back i read a report in england where a news reporter handed in wallets and bags at a couple different train stations and police stations and only like 2 out of 7 returned them, the other 5 said they nether had them to begin with.

#7, Thats england for ya, I've heard one of my friends say near enough the same line when he found a pound! ha ha

Your King @ Jan 21st 2007 10:06AM

Ah, good ole' England, with its majestic and undeniably long history of taking things that are not theirs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire).

joe @ Jan 21st 2007 10:50AM

at first i was rushing to object about the honesty statement -- i live in nyc and my girlfriend lost her wallet at the port authority bus terminal. it was returned to her eventually.

but alas, last year we found a DS lying in the grass at a rest stop and traded it in for a DS lite. hmm.

Jeff @ Jan 21st 2007 12:20PM

Ok, here are my last two experiences with lost items in the US and Japan.

Back when we all carried around portable CD players, I had brought mine with me to a movie in the US. I put it on the floor as I watched the movie, and forgot it when I left. Nobody could have seen it but the cleaning crew. I realized almost *immediately* after leaving that I had forgotten it, went back to the theater and it was gone. Asked one of the cleaning people if they'd seen it, no. Asked the customer service counter (which functions as the lost and found) and they said no. Left my number and they never called back. Called them a few days later and they said sorry, it was probably gone for good.

On my last trip to Japan, I left my jacket on the airplane. I didn't realize it until we were on our connecting flight to Osaka. We told the chief flight attendant and she radioed back to the ground. A search was begun. Throughout the flight, she gave us regular updates (this is like a 40 minute flight, so it was like every five minutes). Once we were on the ground, an employee whisked us from the gate to an area where we could wait with him as he kept in contact with the Tokyo ground crew. They didn't find it that night, but told us they'd call us if they did.

2 days later we got a call. The jacket had been found and returned. We could either come and get it or they would *mail it to us for free*. It was getting cold so we ended up making a special trip out to the airport in the interests of time, but they would have actually sent it to us wherever we were, for no charge.

So don't tell me there isn't a difference. In Japan, you pretty much *expect* lost stuff to get returned. In the US, it literally makes the newspapers half the time when it happens.

SirGecko @ Jan 21st 2007 12:45PM

@ number 18

Sure the British empire did a lot of shit, but how is that relevent? The Japanese empire did a lot worse in World War II but that doesn't really effect my opinion of Japanese people in general, so why should the British empire's history of colonialism and explotiation be any different?

S_DOG34 @ Jan 21st 2007 12:51PM

@ Jeff

Not that I don't agree with what you're saying, but your examples are really bad ones. Leaving a jacket on the airplane and leaving a tiny electronic item in a movie theater are two VERY different scenarios. Had you left your jacket at the movie theater, it likely would not have been taken. And unless you leave something very expensive and stealable on an airplane, it's highly unlikely that it would be taken. My mother was a flight attendant for 30+ years, so I've heard plenty of stories.

Zapp @ Jan 21st 2007 1:42PM

I don't know the US and England, but here in Canada I have left my wallet on a bus three times, and have dropped my PSP on the mall floor. Each time it was either brought to custumer service or returned to me directly.

Just so you know that Japan isn't the only country with upstanding citizens

lucky644 @ Jan 21st 2007 6:34PM

I've had my Wallet and Gloves (expensive leather ones) returned to me before.

I'm a Canadian.

Matt @ Jan 21st 2007 8:55PM

Damned Brits. First Top Gear and now this! =P

ill trooper @ Jan 22nd 2007 12:38AM

I think the difference in Japan is that as a society, they want things like 'lost items' to be returned, they like stories like this one, and a member of the general public won't take something if it's someone else's. Here in NYC, it's more exciting to find and keep a digital camera or phone, not to mention infinitely easier than returning it, as long as you can keep your conscience in check.

I go to Japan often and the overall attitude is 'let's keep things running smoothly,' hence, better customer service, respect for lines and arrival order, no one trying to hold the train doors and cause delays, helmets sitting on the seats of delivery mopeds all day unlocked outside the restaurant... You may have seen locks on bikes in Japan but certainly nothing like the gnarly Kryptonite ones here, the feeble bike locks in Japan seem to cater more to the old saying "Keeps honest men honest."

Yes, like everywhere, and all through history, there is obviously a dark side. 'No duh' on the 'Yakuza' remark, did you just catch 'Black Rain' on cable or something? Sure people might want to steal something they see laying around, and some will, but the general consensus is that THEY DON'T in Japan. I've traveled all over Japan and there truly is a difference in public attitude, and it's nearly unthinkable to 'get over' on someone else, which I think is the core of what I'm getting at.

To the average Japanese, it's probably even more horrifying to get CAUGHT 'getting over' at someone else's expense!

If you ever make it over there, you will feel it. Unless you're in one of those shady areas by the canals in Osaka... Then, well, just look like you know where you're going as you walk around.

machrc @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:51PM

I did some prop work for a concert in Japan coupla years back. Unlike a concert here in the state, there was NO trash lining the stage of the concert floor. NonE. THere was nothing to clean up but the equipment.

avplaya @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:26PM

About the Yakuza: they are not the same type of criminals as your average mafia. They DO actually care about not taking their business to the civilians, and if a Yakuza found a DS on the street you can bet your life they'll turn it in or even returning it personally. It's about personal honor; a Yakuza without a reputation of honor is open season to all other Yakuza - no mercy.

Only the young street gang (not necessarily Yakuza-related) would commit petty crimes and beatings. If you walk into a Yakuza boss and you didn't know who he was, he will most likely apologize first. This is the reason why the Japanese gov't didn't wipe them out yet; they maintain their boundaries very, very carefully.

Borat @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:52PM

Let's be honest guys, if we found a stray DS we'll probably keep it or sell it on eBay.

Sure, there are people out there who will try to return it, but for the majority it's just easier to keep it/sell it.

But if it's somebody's wallet I would probably try to return it. The thought of losing a wallet makes me really nervous.

ThePete @ Jan 22nd 2007 3:33PM

For anyone else who thinks the UK is filled with honest people, check out this article:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2560207,00.html

Turns out a cargo ship ran aground off of an English coastline. The contents of said ship ended up on the beach inspiring many honest Brittons to stop by and take custody of much of the said contents which ranged from diapers to motorcycles to beauty cream to auto parts. Something tells me they're not taking those items to the nearest police box (not just because the UK doesn't have police boxes anymore, either).

Good, honest folks, the British!

ThePete @ Jan 22nd 2007 3:33PM

JUST yesterday I found someone's keys on the sidewalk. No police boxes in LA and I was in an industrial park area (as in: plenty of private businesses in the area with parking on the street and on lots. These keys could belong to ANYone on the street. Not feeling comfortable with taking them to the one front desk their owners would visit, I just left them on the ground. :(

At lunch today I'll check and see if they're still there.

Also: I'd have kept the DS, too. Though if there was a police box handy (or a cop), I'd turn it in with the full expectation that the cop I turned it in to would keep it for himself.

And you can't accuse the author of this post of being ethnocentric since he says England is his/her native country. I can make fun of Los Angeles since I'm from here. He/she can make fun of England since that's where he/she's from. Those are the social rules, right?

tom_squick @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:13PM

What is that thing dude?

Turkdaone @ Jan 23rd 2007 5:17AM

Try that in the united states and you will see that the outcome will be different.

I understand that honesty is the best policy as I would return it as well.I need to visit japan seems to be my kind of place.Canada as well.Remember the michael moore documentary bowling for columbine?How the canadians sleep with their doors unlocked?Try that here in the states or better yet announce that your door is unlocked and watch what happens around 2 am.

Honest people are in every culture but the japanese are mostly known for honor.I mean even if it isnt correct we see the movies and everything about samurais etc. and its all about honesty.

Drop a wallet here in the states and its all clean in 10 minutes tops.Cards maxed out cash gone etc.

I bet when most americans read this they thought about their wallets and made sure they were on their dressers at home in the car or in their pockets.hahahaha