An assumption that sums up why I love living in Japan

I came across a news story out of Myoko yesterday, and it made me stop and think, "this is exactly why I love living in Japan."

At a parking area along the Joshinetsu Expressway, more than 20 car windows were shattered. It sounds dramatic, and I'm sure for the people there it was, since one person even ended up with minor injuries from the broken glass. What really stood out to me wasn't just the incident itself, but more so how people responded to it.

No one immediately jumped to the idea of vandalism or crime, with the people who were affected mentioning strong gusts of wind, sand being whipped up, and even small stones hitting the cars with enough force to crack the windows. Police are investigating the incident with the assumption that the damage was caused by natural forces.

Back in my home country, I can't help but feel the default reaction would be very different. Broken car windows in a parking lot would almost immediately raise suspicions of theft or deliberate damage, and I guess not without precedent to assume that!