Perhaps it is understandable that folks in Japan (and elsewhere) think that the US has gone insane:

In a sign of consumer desperation amid a bleak economy, the annual rite of retailing known as Black Friday turned chaotic and deadly, as shoppers scrambled for holiday bargains.

A Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., died after being trampled by customers who broke through the doors early Friday, and other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man. Story at the Seattle Times here.

I do remember an incident in Tama Plaza, Kanagawa a few years ago where a group of female shoppers burst through the doors at a big sale which resulted in several going to the hospital. Fortunately, nobody died then.