No horror film can match the news from Japan this week: the devastating earthquake, the deadly tsunami, and the unfolding nuclear crisis.

The loss of life and enormous suffering are heart wrenching, but people around the world have also marveled at the discipline with which ordinary Japanese have dealt with the disaster.

TV news reports show people patiently waiting in long lines to buy food and water, or to make a call at a public phone booth. We see people sitting or lying quietly in temporary shelters, many without adequate water, food, or blankets.

A micro blog from Japan tells how a public square, where hundreds of Japanese huddled for three hours after the earthquake, remained almost spotless.

Primary school students have been telling journalists how they were trained to respond to earthquakes and tsunamis. The most recent drill took place on March 3, eight days before the actual quake. One Japanese scholar recalled that he began these rehearsals when he was nine years old.

The discipline of the Japanese people is admirable, of course, but there is something missing. In all the TV reports, I have not seen a lot of emotion. I have seen tears, such as those of a teenage girl who was reunited with her two aunts after the quake, but such scenes have been few and far between. I remember many more emotional scenes after the severe earthquake that devastated Sichuan in 2008.

On one Chinese language website, some Chinese have wondered why they have not seen survivors sharing their supplies or volunteers from outside the ravaged area bringing water and blankets. Both were common in Sichuan three years ago.

I suspect that the danger of a nuclear meltdown is affecting rescue and relief efforts. Because of increasing radiation, the Japanese government has actually issued warnings, seeking to dissuade volunteers from venturing into the areas worst hit by the earthquake and tsunami.

I think that as more information comes out of Japan, these questions will be answered.

We do know that some 20 Chinese owe their lives to Mitsuru Sato, a senior manager at a seafood company in Onagawa where they were working as trainees.

One of the trainees, Yi Yanan, recalled that after the earthquake, the Chinese ran out of their dormitory, but Sato came and took them to higher ground at a nearby shrine.

Only after seeing them all settled did Sato run back to fetch his wife and daughter.

Unfortunately, he was too late; the tsunami soon inundated his home. "I saw him standing on the rooftop when a wave engulfed him," Yi recalled.

When night fell, the trainees didn't know where to go, but their boss, Sato's older brother, Hitoshi Sato, spent several hours finding shelters for them.

"The next day, the first thing Sato's brother said to me was 'All the trainees are accounted for,'" recalled Du Hua, who was in charge of the Chinese trainees at Sato Suisan Co Ltd.

We now know that with the help of local people, all of the 100 or so Chinese trainees working in Onagawa survived the earthquake and the tsunami, even though many of the town's 10,000 people lost their lives.

A 15-member Chinese rescue team in Ofunato - one of the coastal cities hardest hit by the tsunami - was also well treated. A member of the team reported that a saleswoman at a local convenience store refused to take money for their purchases.

In any country, there are people who are selfish, but there are many more who are ready to help others in an emergency.

The author is assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily. E-mail: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn