One concept that’s always interested me is joshiki (JOH-sh’kee) the Japanese “universal common sense” or knowledge that all reasonable people are supposed to possess here. The Japanese have a vast storehouse of this knowledge and it’s one of the reasons why Japan seems to be such a harmonious place when viewed from the outside.

Have a traffic accident? The insurance companies will work out the percentages of who was at fault according to guidelines the industry has established, so there’s never a need for a lawsuit.

Going to have a baby? Virtually all babies are born in traditional hospitals, and you almost never hear of alternate birthing methods.

Quite a lot of people around the world have chosen a vegetarian lifestyle, but in Japan, it’s joshiki that a meal will generally include meat or fish along with vegetables and white rice, and so there are almost no vegans here at all.

When I go to the U.S. this summer, one thing that’s on my list to do is straighten out my legal affairs and make a new will, something every family man should consider doing regularly. My wife was curious about why I needed to do this, though — it seems that the Japanese common sense system covers death quite tidily, with all assets distributed in a logical manner, and there’s seldom any cause for someone to have a written will in place.