One memory of my early visits to Japan that sticks is a Starbucks employee booking ass out of the store to catch me as I left.
“Excuse me, sir!” he called. “You forgot something!”
I’d forgotten the change from my order.
It was exactly one yen. A fraction of a penny.
Flash forward to today. I live in Tokyo. I have a jar of one yen coins (actually, a Skytree tower full of them – thanks, Gaijin Mommy) because exchanging them for bills isn’t worth the effort.
For the most part, I appreciate Japan’s attention to minute detail, even if it’s more an inconvenience than a benefit. But that attention can turn into dangerous hair-splitting – especially when it comes to upholding the country’s much-coveted law and order.
I wrote previously about the dude who lost his teaching job thanks to his habit of pouring a large convenience store coffee when he only ordered a medium. Now, the dude was a repeat offender. It’s not like it was a one-and-done crime. One could argue that, while he may not have expected the cops and his employer to react the way they did, he should’ve expected a reaction.
It doesn’t take (in this case, petty) criminal intent, however, for the police to get involved. One Japanese rapper found that out the hard way recently when he used the self-checkout. His story went viral on social media, where people voiced their doubts over how ubiquitous the technology has become in this labor-strapped country.
