I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the explanation that there's no looting because the Government's emergency response is very good and people are getting what they need at the shelters.
>there's no looting because the Government's emergency response is very good...
That wasn't particularly the case during the great Hanshin EQ of 1995. I think they did try to improve gov't response to disasters since then. So, yes, I believe they have faith in the gov't, but it's not because of a stellar record.
Expanding on this, I suspect that people have confidence that the situation is being well handled, and there are enough supplies to go around, so people don't tend feels a need to loot or hoard. The preparation and the perception are equally important. (Preparation without perception leads to pointless wasteful crime. Perception without the preparation leads to piles of abandoned bodies.)
