Virtue in the Land of the Rising Sun

Two days ago I popped into my favorite local bakery, Vide France, for a banana black-soybean muffin before work. I plopped my muffin on the counter and opened my purse to grab my wallet and...my wallet wasn't there. I sheepishly apologized to the salesgirl who had rung me up, and slunk out of the bakery hungry and confused. As I walked to work, I convinced myself that my wallet was safe at home, I had probably just left it next to my futon, or on top of my drawers. As soon as I got home from work I thoroughly searched my room, becoming increasingly panicked as my green cube of a wallet with rhinestone decals was NOT turning up. After three hours of denial that my wallet wasn't really missing, after all I hadn't checked behind the fridge yet, I gave up and headed to a "koban" or police box in a quest to retrieve my missing wallet. In my broken Japanese I explained to one of the officer's that my wallet was lost, luckily he spoke a little English and between the two of us we were able to converse. He had me fill out a report and asked me the usual questions about missing items: when was the last time I had seen it, how much yen was in it, etc. After filling out the report I asked "daijobu desuka" meaning is everything OK? The officer nodded then motioned for me to wait. He made a phone call to the Police Headquarters in Himeji, and they informed him that my missing wallet was there!! I thanked him profusely and hightailed it to the Police Headquarters. After another round of "domo arigatos" I had my wallet in my hands, along with the 4,000 yen, or 40 dollars, that hadn't been touched. After my wallet experience I've come to realize that honesty ranks high among one of the many practiced virtues in Japan. Stealing of anything greater than the occasional bike is almost non-existent. This is not the first instance of missing items being reported or left intact. I have heard stories of people leaving their wallets on buses or trains, only to find them in one of the public transportation lost and found centers, or in the exact spot the owner left it, untouched. If I had lost my wallet in America I think the chances are pretty high someone would have stolen my money and credit cards, or just not bothered to turn it in. Before embarking on my Japan adventure I had heard and read that Japan was one of the most honest countries in terms of missing items, especially those of value. After my own personal incident, and first hand accounts of other similar incidents, I have come to believe this statement to be true. Honesty abounds in the Land of the Rising Sun.