The Question Of Vending Machines

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​THE QUESTION OF VENDING MACHINES

...Continued from yesterday:
      In response to yesterday's  blog on the subject of Japan setting up vending machines that will offer free food and drinks if an earthquake hits (see yesterday's post, https://www.ailantha.com/blog/a-lesson-from-japan​), my sister Romaine posted a Facebook comment recounting the time during COVID that she left a bowl of Halloween candy on her porch and one group came by and took it all.
​      She wondered if, under such a circumstance as an earthquake, people would share the vending machine supplies.
        I responded that the same thought had occurred to me, too. I said I'd run the question by my Facebook friend who lives in Japan.
       The Facebook friend I was referring to is Diane Hawley Nagatomo, author of the upcoming novel "The Butterfly Café" ​​(of which I was given a pre-release copy to read and which I highly recommend if you enjoy a sweet, heart-touching romance). 

      It was Diane who posted on Facebook the news article about the vending machines.

      Anyway, here's what Diane had to say about the question of the vending machines and whether people would try to grab all the earthquake emergency food for themselves:
     "One big difference about the vending machines--no one in Japan will vandalize them. Also, if there is an emergency, people will take turns getting the food and no one will try to grab it all. When the tsunami hit and people's belongings were all over the place, even cash (in safes, etc) was attempted to be returned to the owners (or likely, the owners' surviving families)."
        She also added:
       Vending machines in Japan sell all kinds of stuff, including meat. If you google around, you might find all kinds of weird things!
        So I did google around, and I learned that Japanese vending machines do, in fact, sell all kinds of stuff,

...not only all kinds of food stuff (Burgers? Check. Ramen? Yep. Pizza? Sure. Dog-shaped cakes? Of course. Whale meat? Naturally), but non-food stuff as well, such as clothes, jewelry and personal products. Apparently vending machines are all over in Japan, millions of them,  with one vending machine for about every 23 Japanese citizens.           

     And the vending machines in Japan aren't vandalized or broken. And if there's an earthquake and the vending machines pop open, people will share the free food and drinks.
      Ah, the joys of living in a civilized country. It must be nice.

   
​      Reference:
     https://www.tastingtable.com/947640/everything-you-need-to-know-about-japanese-vending-machines/