The Japanese consulate in Hawai'i was wise to stay out of the beef Kahala neighbors have with Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto. The Honolulu City Council should follow its lead.

No matter how right the Kahala neighbors are, or how righteous their indignation, it is essentially a neighborhood dispute. The City Council would be busy every day of the week, every hour of the day, if neighborhood disputes end up on their to-do lists.

What was the Japanese consulate supposed to do? Invoke some cultural code of conduct? This is an organization that issues passports, not demerits.

If there are zoning violations on the Kawamoto properties, there is a city department in place to handle such things. If there are threats to health and safety, let the Department of Health step in. But to have a group of elected officials involved in a beef over a guy who doesn't keep his lawn mowed and lets his bushes get too bushy opens up a whole can of worms. What O'ahu neighborhood doesn't have its own trash house that is an eyesore and a heartache to all the other folks on the street who work hard to keep their places looking nice?

There's safety and there's aesthetics, and Kawamoto's trashiest Kahala yard is still pretty tame compared to the worst in other neighborhoods.

It could be argued that the people who have torn down those quaint low-slung kama'aina homes to make room for gaudy mansions that fill out every corner of the lot have done more to destroy Kahala's character than Kawamoto.

That's not to say that Kawamoto has the right to let his collection of million-dollar properties go to seed. He does, but only to a point. There's a certain social compact between neighbors, a nonverbal agreement to terms specific to the community. People who live there understand what things are acceptable and what things are frowned upon. Visible clotheslines are welcome in some communities. Cars up on blocks are no big deal on some streets. On Kahala Avenue, folks expect the brass dolphins on security gates to be nicely polished.

The Kahala neighbors have been careful to complain about Kawamoto's vacant houses rather than the three he "rents" rent-free to hand-picked needy families. No one has said anything publicly about the cars up on jacks, the tumble of plastic toys in the yard, the mop buckets left outside the front doors. It's just not polite to say anything. But those stick out, too.

Unless there are clear violations of law, the Kahala neighbors will have to endure the aggravation and indignation of a neighbor who doesn't take care of his stuff. Like the rest of us have to.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.