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>> i hope that's the case. thank you very much indeed. one of the most striking things about the aftermath of the disaster in japan is the calm and stoicism of the japanese people. joining me now is a man who spent a lot of time in japan. "the new york times'" nick cristophe. you were actually in japan. you were the tokyo bureau chief for "the new york times" in the kobe earthquake of 1995. so you've been through a similar kind of scenario then. what is it about the japanese people that allows them to deal with such catastrophe in what appears to be such a remarkably calm manner? >> well, i ...

Have created a situation where i think all nations are really thinking again and looking into the redesigning of future reactors. >> finally, the social order of the country. you noticed the -- you talk to the stoicism of the japanese people, which you say is world renowned. how well are they working together? are they operating as a community, as a nation? is there any chaos that you can see? >> reporter: the remarkable thing is, chaos, no, absolutely not. a number of people have noted the fact in our teams that there's no looting here to speak of. i've heard of no reports of that. there are ...

Getting the latest. what is their demeanor? how are they handling this? is there panic there out in the outer skirts of these towns? >> no. i think there is an incredible amount of stoicism i think. people seem very resigned to what has happened. they're doing the best they can pushing through day by day and literally hour by hour in some of these cities. but, no. there doesn't seem to be a sense of panic. i think there is a sense of frustration about getting as much of the information as they can. but, again, it's just the sheer difficulty of getting it. because some of these areas are so cut...

Changing the situation significantly so where you are, lee, from what i can understand, is that the folks out there aren't getting the word and getting the latest. what is their demeanor? how are they handling this? is there panic there out in the outer skirts of these towns? >> no. i think there is an incredible amount of stoicism i think. people seem very resigned to what has happened. they're doing the best they can pushing through day by day and literally hour by hour in some of these cities. but, no. there doesn't seem to be a sense of panic. i think there is a sense of frustration about ...

>> reporter: the japanese people are showing the most extraordinary stoicism for which they are quite rightly noted the world over. but, you know, there's also an extraordinary warmth and compassion. let me put it this way. we went into a town which was almost completely destroyed. without question, the worst affected town in this entire disaster. and the area is huge, let me tell you. the woman came out. she was living and i schoin a s. she looked unsure, suspicious, who were we. it was explained to her by our interpreter. she hugged the producer. she said i thank you. i can't believe you've ...