Misconception #2 - Japan is a highly modern country
Our "state of the art" clock radio in a convention hotel in Kobe with light and climate switch and message function.
After we cleared up the misconception that vacationing in Japan is expensive in the first article of our blog series, today we are talking about the supposedly consistent progressiveness of Japan. The country of electronics giants like Sony and Nintendo, super fast trains, millions of vending machines and spectacular big cities seems very progressive at first glance. After all, video games and anime define the modern image of Japan abroad. However, a closer look reveals conservative structures and outdated technology. The 80s are still state-of-the-art in many areas of Japanese life. Accompany me on a short journey back in time to analog technology and outdated communication.
Overview
The thing with the fax
Japanese companies have a strange fascination with sending faxes. Every company has at least one fax machine that is used daily to communicate with customers, business partners and other departments. In the Akihabara electronics district of Tokyo, there are countless stores that carry brand new fax machines. Of course, not everyone has such a fax machine at home. But any 24-hour supermarket (konbini) does, where you can fax your order to the online store or make a reservation at the district's trendy restaurant. Some companies even restrict their employees from sending e-mails due to security concerns, preferring to rely on the tried-and-true fax machine. Whether the familiar beeping and whirring or a general distrust of new technology is the reason for the importance of the fax machine cannot be said with certainty. The clarification of this question should be left to the scientific community in Japan - the request for this can be conveniently sent by fax to the respective institutes.
Off to Akihabara - not for video games or manga figures, but to buy a fax machine. Many electronics stores have brand new machines on sale.***
CD's and DVD's
While the rest of the world now buys most of its music digitally, things are different in Japan. Here, more than 80% of music sales are in the form of CDs, records or cassettes(!).* A proportion of this is accounted for by buyers who prefer cassettes or vinyl for nostalgic reasons or out of a preference for analog sound. But this only makes up a small part of the sales. CDs account for the largest share. Here, the demand for singles and albums has been unbroken for years. Particularly strange is the preference for single CDs from Japanese and Korean idol groups. Young girl and boy bands sell their singles in the millions. In addition, there are often limited editions or special versions, which push sales strongly.
Another phenomenon is the thousands of video stores across the country. Few scroll through digital media libraries to pick out a movie. Here, a leisurely movie night involves going to the video store around the corner and browsing shelves for the right film. The majority of Japanese rent video DVDs and bluerays - just 16.5% use streaming services such as Amazon Prime or Netflix.** As one of the largest markets for music and film, this fact presents the corporate giants with a major challenge in conquering the Japanese market.
Not an uncommon sight: There are thousands of CD, vinyl and DVD stores throughout Japan.****
The written application
Another special case is the written application to a Japanese company. It requires a skill that many people can hardly master these days: calligraphy. The majority of companies still require the written completion of a standard form, the so-called Rirekisho (履歴書). It can most readily be compared to a curriculum vitae, but in detail it differs somewhat from the European form. Particularly elaborate: Once you've made a mistake, correcting it with Typ-Ex is out of the question - that would look sloppy and careless. You take a new form and simply start again from the beginning. The application is then submitted in person, by mail or by fax. Surely you didn't think you could scan them and send them as an attachment to an email! 😉
Please fill in in beautiful handwriting! Japanese companies want to recognize the applicant's character and motivation from the handwriting.
CONCLUSION: A double-edged sword
The adherence to old structures and the conservative way of thinking of many Japanese prevent the modernization of everyday life in many places. But this is also one of the reasons why many of the traditions and customs as well as the traditional cuisine have been preserved. Even the search for old video games or rare records is easy and you can find decades-old technology in original packaging in new condition. In fact, there are many stores that specialize in video games, cassettes or old electronics.
Traditional structures make the country unique and, unlike most of the highly developed industrialized countries, a piece of history is thus also preserved. And if I am honest: I'd really like to go back to a video store and browse for movies or buy a cassette for my dusty Walkman.
Sources:
*International Federation of the Phonographic Industry - Global Music Report 2016
***Image by Christian Singer (Pixabay). His website: https://www.anthrphotoblog.com/
****Image by Jorge Fakhouri (Pixabay). His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jorgefakhouri.fotografia/