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Published on September 26, 2007

Some people even say, "Thai politicians can spell the word 'honest' but cannot make themselves honest."

However, this story concerns Japan. I have always wished that my sons would one day have a chance to study in Japan or Germany, because I admire the discipline of the people in those two countries. They suffered dearly in World War II but were able to bring themselves back into the front row quickly.

As it happens, my sons are captivated by the quiet atmosphere of Canberra. This is not something I am upset about, because in the end, no matter in which country you live, people are always taught to be good.

During the 20 years I have been travelling around the world, one country that I have always enjoyed visiting is Japan. The culture and food are not so different from in Thailand, and I particularly enjoy going to northern parts of Japan, such as Hokkaido.

Early this month, I was among a group of Thai journalists invited by Tripetch Isuzu Sales to visit Japan. We visited the Isae shrine, saw the Isuzu River and watched sumo, as well as going to the Isuzu plant and learning about the Mimamori system, which is a system for monitoring and maintaining truck fleets on a real-time basis. For truck operators, the system helps to control expenses and reduce accidents, as well as dramatically increasing fleet efficiency.

But back to honesty. One morning, when we were scheduled to leave the northern Japanese city of Noboribetsu, we were loading our luggage onto the bus when a local man approached and asked if we were from Thailand and whether one of us had used an American Express credit card the day before.

Yarnyont Group president Jaruay Khanmanee said he had used his card, but when the Japanese man saw the card, he shook his head and returned it. He asked if anyone else had used such a card, and when no one replied, he began to look uneasy. But then Formula magazine director Kwanchai Paphatphong recalled that he had used his American Express card the previous day.

Seeing Kwanchai's card, the Japanese man asked, "Did you purchase any souvenirs at my shop last night?" Kwanchai nodded, and the Japanese man told him the purchase was worth 39,000 yen (Bt11,600), but he had mistakenly written the sum of ¥390,000 on the credit-card slip by adding an extra zero. Kwanchai had signed the slip without checking the amount.

After closing the shop later that night, the Japanese shop-owner had gone through the credit-card slips and discovered his mistake. He then checked with hotels in the area in an effort to find Kwanchai before spending two hours waiting for us to emerge from the hotel in the morning.

The man, later identified as Mitsuo Yoshida, owner of the Noboribetsu Kisendo souvenir shop, took Kwanchai to his shop to sign a new slip. He not only apologised profusely, but also offered Kwanchai a complimentary gift. Japanese translators said he was really worried about the incident.

I always feel good when I witness an act of honesty like that, in a business world where profit is the name of the game. But it made me wonder what might have happened had it occurred in Thailand.

It does not take much of a search through the political news to guess that here the response might have been: "I'm not guilty, because the customer signed the slip, meaning he acknowledged the amount. He did not point out any mistake to me, and because I'm very busy and have many customers to take care of, I cannot worry about just one. If you say I'm guilty, then I'll sue you. This was an honest mistake."

¥390,000 may not be enough to buy a Premier League football team, but it was enough to buy my heart and that of every person on that bus in Noboribetsu.

Pattanadesh Asasappakij

E-mail your motoring questions to Pattanadesh@nationgroup.com.

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