Locks on toliet paper dispensers

Something I noticed recently kind of caught my attention. Toliet paper dispensers in public restrooms don't have locks on them. Now at first, I thought why would they. But then I started thinking about it, every single toliet paper dispenser that I have ever seen in the States has had a lock on it. I know why they have locks on them in the States, so kids don't steal it. That seems like a completely valid reason to me, kids are sort of dumb, like to steal things for no reason, and "tping" houses is quite popular, but sometimes the paper is hard to come by. Hence all the locks on public restroom dispensers. But why none in Japan?

It makes me wonder whether children in Japan t.p. houses or not. Whether they have that inner desire to break the law in small ways. As a kid in the States I think most flirt with the law in small ways for a couple of reasons. They don't know any better is the first one. The rush of doing something wrong is extremely tempting. Peer pressure can be a bitch. Maybe the law is standing in the way of something they really want to do. And kids in the states are the only ones who flirt with the law, adults to what they think they can get away with all the time. Although, when we get older it is called taking calculated risks. It's no longer about not knowing any better, but knowing enough to know what is okay. So do the Japanese not have this desire? Or are we just over protective of our toliet papaer in the states?

I don't think the Japanese are above breaking the law. But there is a more natural aversion to it. For example, there will be no cars coming but the walking light is red on a small alley like street and some people wont cross until it turns green. In fact, J-walking in general is not something most Japanese do. Also, cigarettes are sold in vending machines, but most children under the legal age of 20 don't take advantage of this. A lot will smoke after they turn 20, and some try it before reaching legal status, but not enough to take the vending machines of the streets. So maybe the Japanese are less enticed to break the law. After polling my students none of them admitted to having been stopped by a police officer for any reason what-so-ever. It carries quite the negative connotation here. That and we may just be a little over protective of our toliet paper in the States.