i'm not apathetic, i just don't care

So, apparently there was an earthquake followed by a tsunami (an awesome word by the way) in a far away place called Japan.  Some people probably died and some nuclear reactors operated in a way contrary to what you would normally expect.  The media have covered it incessantly since - every once and a while interjecting "it could happen here" type lines into their coverage. 

The real question is - why should i care?  Is it really that big of deal?  Maybe i'll re-purpose the Ferris Bueller line - i'm not Japanese, i don't plan on being Japanese and who cares if they had a big wave, that still doesn't change the fact that i don't own a piece of tin.  Maybe life is just like the Truman Show where everything is in a controlled environment and nothing of the outside world really exists.  The media loves to play up these "disasters".  However, i have no stake (or am even remotely connected) in all of this.  Why should i care?  Isn't life a big enough pain in the whole lower back area as it is without trying to feel the unrealistic empathy for a people i know or care nothing about. 

Basically, it is if a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound?  Why should i care i don't live in the forest or even plan to visit it?  Sure maybe the tree makes a sound, but that is largely irrelevant to my pathetic existence.       

Japan is this far off mythical island or island group that produces occasional major league baseball players and home electronics (it used to now it is made in China like pretty much everything else.  How can i be 100% sure that Japan really exists.  i'm still not totally sure New York city exists.  If i cared nothing about 9/11 why would i care about Japan? 

So, people there died, why should i care?  This just strikes me as a more extreme example of the Haiti quake (although this one wasn't in a third world cesspool).  This situation doesn't really effect me at all.  What is the big deal?  Why should i value human life in an overpopulated world, especially human life that it no way impacts my life?  It sucks for them, but there is really no meaning in it for me (it might as well be the movie 2012, the situation seems as real to me). 

There are very real economic consequences that could result from this that may actually be scary.