Japan’s Love For Old Technology

Japan is undoubtedly a leader when it comes to technology development, from high quality electronic devices to robots and machines that are widely used in manufacturing plants around the world.  However, in everyday life in Japan, it is not uncommon to see certain technologies that one may remember from the 1990's or early 2000's in other countries.  It can be quite confusing for a foreigner who arrives in the country after binge watching their favorite Japanese anime with a robot or futuristic theme.  Find out about some of the baffling tech devices our podcasters have encountered while living and working in Japan in this episode.

• A recent earthquake in Niigata and the huge blunder made by the nuclear power plant company in the area
• The widespread use of outdated facsimile technology in schools and businesses
• The lack of personal email accounts in Japanese companies and outdated operating systems running on company computers
• Reasons for why Japan lags behind overseas economies in adopting the latest technologies
• The effect that the very high percentage of small and medium sized enterprises in Japan, and also the conservative mindset that prevails in those companies, has on technology adoption
• How old tech kills productivity at Japanese companies
• The factors that help to promote Japan’s image of being a very technologically advanced society
• The amazing invention that is the Japanese toilet and the many features that our podcasters have come to value and appreciate
• The inconvenient operating hours of bank ATM machines, which can lead late night partiers stranded with no money to pay for a taxi home
• Stamp taxes leading banks to start encouraging people to utilize online banking
• Pockets filled with cash on the everyday person walking down the street
• High fees charged by credit card companies deter many stores and businesses from implementing credit card payment devices
• Our podcasters embarrass themselves by being completely clueless about modern digital payment technologies 
• The fear of exposure to the outside world can cause certain companies in Japan to avoid cloud computing and file sharing
• Ben explains why his distrust of tech and governments has led him to stop using his personal Facebook account
• How Japan used to lead the world in advanced mobile phones
• 1800’s technology of personal stamps, or “inkan” (印鑑), that is utilized almost everywhere in Japan instead of signatures

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