Two influential tragic incidents in 2011 are discussed in connection with the cultivation of morality in Japan. One is the suicide of a junior high school student due to bullying in his school--a scandal which eventually led to the country's redefinition of the status of moral education in the school curriculum. The other is the huge earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku. Observing the affected area, foreign media reporters wondered why there was no looting in Japan. In order to shed light on this question small-scale research was conducted on perceptions of the practice of unattended vegetable stands (UVSs), as an index of the moral level of some Japanese people. Responses of various groups involved in this study suggested that the well-disciplined behaviour of Japanese people, indicated by this practice, is not necessarily only a product of school moral education. Rather, they considered that conduct in daily life, social solidarity, and education at home are the major components of the moral upbringing of Japanese people. In order to improve moral education in schools, the importance of focusing on children's experiences in daily life and making good use of them from the perspective of children's moral growth are emphasized.