So...why no looting in Japan? I'll tell you why. Their entire culture is built around honor. Their ages old tradition that personal honor is a trait held above every other is why they have low crime rates and why you see very little looting. Even those 50 people who have volunteered to help out with the reactor did so out of honor for their country, their loves ones both living and dead, and their own personal honor. It would be considered highly dishonorable in Japan for someone to jump at the opportunity to steal in the wake of a national disaster. Their honor code is such that the country/company/family/friends comes first. Losing face by conducting yourself in a dishonorable way is taken very seriously in Japan.

In the United States the main focus is on personal GAIN, not personal honor. Americans are by their nature opportunists, and if they see an opportunity for gain, legal or illegal, many will take it.

M2K just brought up a great point that I failed to mention in my previous post - the majority of Japanese have honor. This has absolutely nothing to do with religion, but moreso with their culture and upbringing. Now, some religions preach the same principles, but you rarely see them practiced in modern US society. They may have been at some point years ago, but that time has passed. Today, the only places you'll see honor displayed on a regular basis in the US is in the military, fire department, and law enforcement agencies. But, those without honor typically wouldn't enter those fields in the first place, so I don't find that surprising.