The Japanese/American Tech Deficit

Why do the Japanese get all the coolest gadgets, while the U.S. is left with the second-tier, less-innovative ones? The San Francisco Chronicle delves into this age-old mystery and provides a few explanations for those of us who don't live near Akihabara.

Comments

First things

[SIGALRM]

Why do the Japanese get all the coolest gadgets ... ?

True, but let's put this into perspective. The U.S. usually views blockbuster movie releases first. Many hot game titles are available here first. It all evens out in the long run. Besides, our consumer markets are (of course) driven by entirely different value systems--for better or worse, Japan and the United States have contrasting prerogatives in importing/exporting technology and entertainment.

Re:First things

[savagedome]

Many hot game titles are available here first

That's not true. Newest games are available first on the streets of Taiwan.

Re:First things

[Lemmy Caution]

Any teacher worth keeping can make a lot more doing just about anything else. I'm for extensive reform of the US K-12 educational system - including a nationalized curriculum and a professionalized teacher's corp (along the French model, in which teaching is part of a heirarchical civil service), and the end to local school boards (populated by political failures with no background in education whatsoever.)

I would accompany all these changes with a dramatic increase in teacher's salaries and benefits. Then competition for jobs would improve performance. Teachers' jobs are secure because there is virtually no competition for them - school districts will take almost anyone they can get.

But it's the school boards and administrations that are the biggest problem. They politicize - in the worst way, the local way - education in a very destructive way. Administration of schools should be run by a very professionalized administration with a strong background in educational theory and practice, not a group of yahoos.

Re:First things

[Dogtanian]

Teaching here is almost all memorization and regurgitation.

You're talking about the United States, right? I thought you meant Japan!

Seriously, isn't "learning by rote" the stereotype of Japanese education (with some basis in truth), after all?

Re:First things

[tasidar]

But it's the school boards and administrations that are the biggest problem. They politicize - in the worst way, the local way - education in a very destructive way. Administration of schools should be run by a very professionalized administration with a strong background in educational theory and practice, not a group of yahoos.

I agree with your post, and favor removing political influence from school boards. Members of the board should be drawn from lifetime teachers/educators, and isolated from the direct public.

But, consider this...
If we really want to improve our education system, we have to improve our society's views on teachers
(ie, get rid of "You know what they say, those who can do, those who can't teach").

To me, that quote shows one of the most damning things about our education system, teachers aren't respected.

Re:First things

[Daimaou]

I think, more than anything, it is a matter of cost. I remember when MD Players first came out in Japan. Everybody had one. They had MD Car Stereos, MD Walkmans, MD portable stereos, and MD breakfast cereal.

You could also go down to any number of rental stores and rent CDs and buy blank MD discs to record them on (now THAT would never go over in the US). Most people did this because it was cheaper than buying the CD for $25 - $30.

When I returned to America, however, nobody was using MD players, even though they were available. The problem, I think, was the cost. MD players were around $400 dollars at the time. Nobody in America would spend $400 for a portable Walkman type device, so MD players never caught on. Couple that with the fact that America tried to sell MD versions of commercial CDs instead of just selling the blanks so people could copy CDs; which is what was done in Japan.

I think this is the case with a lot of the tech gadgets that you can buy over in Japan. The cost of these items is always too high for the American market so Americans won't buy the stuff. Therefore, nobody bothers importing it anymore.

The market is also different in Japan. You can do things there that you can't do here, so some of the gadgets just don't make sense in America (MD players being one example).

Re:First things

[Dogtanian]

The Japanese are more motivated into education and their cultural devotion shows through, even in US schools. That is probably why they develop more complex technologys and have the willpower and capacity to.

Aren't you being just a *little* rose-tinted about the Japanese obsession with technology?

I mean, sure, some of it is educational, but a lot of it is just flashy toys. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but let's not over-idealise it.

Remember that Slashdot story about giving conversational robots to old people in Japan? That isn't something I find desirable, personally.

And I'm fed up of the tech--> educational spin that goes around. I think the educational uses of computers (and other technologies) are *way* oversold. It's like BT's broadband advert in the UK, featuring pictures of Henry VIII and the like; "Use it for your homework". Of course they're trying to sell something, but I think too many people are guilty of believing them.

Re:First things

[severoon]

I don't accept the premise of this /. article on its face. The main point rests on the idea that Japan gets the coolest gadgets before they reach the US, or else they never get here at all, which I don't see. This makes me want to get in my way-back machine and remember a time when I first came out the California, a simpler time when people were much more humble and thoughtful...all the way back to the year 2000...

I worked for a startup then whose business model was based on the idea of location-based offerings. (This sounds like spam, but it isn't.) As a customer, you'd go to their portal on the web and register an account. Then, later, you'd log in and enter information that you were going to be in the city on Saturday night, and you're looking to eat Italian food. You'd specify how you want to be contacted by the automated call system: cell, PDA, home phone, etc...and the hours, number of calls, etc.

Then, on Saturday night, let's say an Italian restaurant owner is looking at a half-empty restaurant. He might subscribe to the service...so he'd log in on his end and enter in a 2-for-1 entree special. The site would match up your preferences with the business offering and call you to book a reservation.

Surprisingly, this startup didn't fail (at least not right away...it lived several years). However, it did move...to Hong Kong. The funding source did some market research and discovered that we were likely never to make a go of this business by marketing it in the US. Americans get one or two calls that don't interest them from an automated service and turn the service off, saying they don't want to be contacted again. In Tokyo and Hong Kong, they found in their research that people will oftentimes walk around in public with the cell phone to their ear even though they're not on a call...it's a social status thing. They can't get enough calls over there.

So, they packed it up and moved to HK. The point of this story is that, though by and large people are more or less the same the world over, there are cultural differences that manifest in surprising and unexpected ways. Americans tend to want technology that serves them, is quick and easy to use, and isn't too intrusive. Japanese, from what I can see, tend not to care about intrusiveness and are more interested in projecting a message about themselves through the use of personal technology devices. The more these devices intrude on their daily lives, in fact, the more they view it as a sign of being needed or desirable to others. (They even let technology make matchmaking decisions--have you heard about the pager-like device that they have over there? They enter their preferences for a perfect mate in it, and when they get within 25 feet of someone that meets their criteria, if that person has one too, they light up and buzz so the people can choose to meet each other. Again, this would never work in the US.)

The upshot is, Americans get what we think is cool, and Japanese get what they think is cool. The Japanese philosophy tends to be oriented more towards the flashy whiz-bang type of stuff, like digital toilets and Internet-enabled refrigerators, whereas Americans would consider these devices as putting too much emphasis on activities we'd rather not think about, and definitely don't want hackers to have access to. (I'm convinced a good part of this cultural divide comes from the differences between Americans and Japanese opinions about personal privacy rights and expectations. Also, the anti-intellectual attitude in America doesn't help ingratiate technology into our daily lives either...think about it. In this country, one of the stock insults in grade schools and high schools is "you're a nerd". In other countries, like Japan, the insult would be "you're stupid".) This, combined with the fact that Americans always expect to have the latest, greatest, bestest, etc, means that we tend to look at the flashy whiz-bang stuff over there, which we don't want, and say, hey, how come we don't have that here?

Re:First things

[Grishnakh]

There's a little more to it than this.

The Japanese, especially the young ones, have huge disposable incomes, as a result of a culture where it's normal to share a tiny apartment in the city with other families. Because of this, they tend not to invest of their incomes in more permanent things, like houses. This leaves them a lot of cash to spend on the latest gadgets, and the fact that they spend a lot of their time away from home gives them a reason to want a lot of personal/mobile electronics, especially cellphones and PDAs.

Americans, on the other hand, usually have home ownership as their highest priority, and along with this, the most expensive home their income can afford them. A fat mortgage payment leaves little income to spend on gadgets that'll be obsolete in 6 months. It's even worse when you're spending what's left on the most expensive car payment you can afford.

Personally, I think both ways are screwed up. The Japanese culture encourages a lot of consumerism and wastefulness: where do all those obsolete cellphones and other electronics go? And the American system is fairly wasteful and shortsighted too. With all the expensive cars people are buying, they're burning more oil than if they had older cars (look it up: vehicle fuel economy peaked in the 80's, and has been going down ever since). And by buying the most expensive houses possible, we have tons of McMansions going up, which use enormous amounts of energy to heat and cool. (I know someone with a McMansion, and his electric bill in the summer was typically over $500.) But another problem is that these people are all in debt up to their eyeballs, and when something bad happens, they lose their house and car and everything comes tumbling down.

Re:First things

[infinite9]

Nobody in America would spend $400 for a portable Walkman type device

I know what you mean! Just look at how much the ipod has flopped!

Re:First things

[badasscat]

There are just a huge number of misconceptions about the Japanese flying around here. Some of it's understandable, but I'm gonna try to counter what I can.

The Japanese, especially the young ones, have huge disposable incomes, as a result of a culture where it's normal to share a tiny apartment in the city with other families. Because of this, they tend not to invest of their incomes in more permanent things, like houses.

Home ownership in Japan is only about 6% lower than it is in the United States. It's a fallacy that they all live in tiny little apartments - or that they all rent those apartments. Many city apartments are owned, not rented, and there are plenty of less urbanized areas just as there are here, with single-family homes. According to UN statistics, the ratio of urban to rural living is virtually the same in the US and Japan.

(I actually think people forget just how urban the United States is in discussions like this as much as they fail to realize how rural or suburban much of Japan is.)

In fact, the overall savings rate in Japan is much higher than it is in the United States (though the rate has been falling over time in both countries). So this idea that they just spend all of their disposable income on gadgets is wrong. They actually spend less money on gadgets than we do.

Re:First things

[MidnightBrewer]

I've been living in Osaka, Japan for the last three years and I have to say that even among Japan's most outgoing people (the Osakans), the Japanese are not as outgoing as you seem to think. The grandparent was a lot more accurate, based on his books, than you, based on your personal experience. I would tend to believe what I read from research first, rather than one person's personal experience, anyway; a weekend trip to Tokyo doesn't count. Remember: every person's experience is different. Here's a little bit of mine:

The Japanese are as often hamstrung by social structure as books will lead you to believe. A "good" Japanese person worries about not putting themselves forward too much; they also are very conscious of seniority and groups. This largely defines how they interact with people.

It's really hard for a Japanese guy to meet a girl, based on several things: one, they're incredibly shy. As a high school teacher, I have been surprised to find that sometimes the boys don't even know the girls' names, even though they sit in the same room for several years. Getting them to even acknowledge the presence of a particular member of the opposite sex may be misconstrued as voicing one's personal interest, which is a definite no-no. The idea of using a pager that automatically identifies people of similar interests sounds very Tokyo-ish, and probably a very small, niche market. Most likely, it is used by school girls to identify other school girls, because guys wouldn't even dream of getting involved.

For a Japanese, the idea of rejection means that they will have exposed their inner feelings, potentially to everyone, which is the ultimate embarrassment for them. Japanese prefer to let things develop over a long period of time, which is why the whole sempai/kohai (senior/junior) relationship is often romanticized.

Japanese can seem very warm and friendly to foreigners especially, because they believe that we're not hampered by Japanese restraints, as we're not Japanese. However, by that same token, they are less likely to take us seriously, because, well, we're not Japanese. They can be very generous and gracious hosts, but unless you make a serious effort to integrate yourself into the culture and the language, you'll find yourself just as lonely as the rest of them.

On gadgets: at least in my area, while there are many gadgets to be had, the Japanese are pretty reasonable on the whole thing. They prefer sensible to gaudy, and would rather not waste their money on features they don't need. One of my friends just got his Docomo cell phone replaced, and he always tells them to give him whatever's cheapest at the time (he's regretting that policy right now as it got him a 505i, which was the latest and greatest of last year; the design is pretty much crap.)

Finally, most Westerners make the mistake of judging Japan based on what they know of Tokyo. That's a lot like judging America based on, say, New York, or Germany based on Munich. For natives of those countries, they know that this is a gross misrepresentation of their culture, as such large cities often have unique micro-cultures of their own. Tokyo is very un-Japanese in many ways. It is a giant shopping district, attempting to be everything to everyone, and failing completely to have a personality of its own. But then, I prefer Osaka.

I found the article to be typical of the genre; very narrow scope that continues to feed the Western stereotypes of Japanese. My findings? There are only a few things that Japan has that are better than what you get in America; otherwise, we're pretty much on par. America is, after all, Japan's biggest market; it's in their best interest to continue to offer the latest tech.

Yeah, you can find weird novelty items for sale, but that doesn't mean people are buying it. Were Japanese to base their conceptions of America on what you can find in stores in Los Angeles, they'd be convinced that the creature comforts available in America are more elaborate, st

Disposable income...I remember it well.

[lamz]

That article makes a lot of sense, especially about the cultural differences. The extremely tight real estate market ensures that people live with their parents for a long time, and that guarantees a higher level of disposable income. I can relate to that myself. Back in the summer of 1994, while I was working at Babbages and living at home, I bought an Atari Jaguar, and practically every game released for it.

The store manager's wife asked me how I could afford all that, and I told her that I had 100% disposable income. She freaked, and hated me forever for that comment, but it was true! I couldn't afford my own place or even a car, but I could buy all the game cartridges I wanted.

Re:Disposable income...I remember it well.

[Alien54]

The store manager's wife asked me how I could afford all that, and I told her that I had 100% disposable income. She freaked, and hated me forever for that comment, but it was true! I couldn't afford my own place or even a car, but I could buy all the game cartridges I wanted.

which is why your folks stll want you to move out.

Re:Disposable income...I remember it well.

[FinalCut]

Im replying to parent because a couple of its children touched on this subject.

Parent here was kind of critisized for saying he lived with his parents (cause he was spending all of his money on games) and that if he had not been he could have adjusted his priorities and lived on his own.

Now, I'm not an expert on japanese (or any Asian) culture - however, my limited experience with a family that immigrated to the USA from Taiwan showed me one thing that was vastly different than traditional American families - they lived together.

And this isn't a poor immigrant family, they are exceoptionally wealthy and successful. However, having grandma living at home,and adult children living in the house as well wasn't frowned on. The sense of responsibility to family was a bit different than I have seen in other homes.

Maybe they were an anomoly, but the article makes me think that this isn't so.

Not only is real estate more expensive in Japan - but perhaps living at home with Mom and Dad isn't viewed in the same negative "slacker" connotation that it is here. Just like the desire for cooler gadgetry is a cultural thing so too, it would seem, is the accepatability of living with mom/dad even after you are capable of living on your own.

What strikes me about the article is that the Kids aren't helping with the cost of rent/mortgage. Now, I doubt that all adult children who are living with their parents in Japan are stiffing their parents for the bill. But the fact that it was mentioned this way makes me think that it maybe the norm.

I know in my family the level of family responsibility goes both ways. Once I turned 18 - if I spent any time living with my parents (which I did for about 6 months) I paid a fair rent equitable to the cost of a 1 bedroom studio in the area I lived in. Plus I forked over cash for groceries if I ate any.

Maybe I'm just whacked - but the sense of responsibility to family (providing free shelter for adult, money earning, children) and the lack of same by the children seems as important to the gadget craze success in Japan as teenage school girls.

Grass Is Greener

[fembots]

Why do the Japanese get all the coolest gadgets, while the U.S. is left with the second-tier, less-innovative ones?

Maybe, just maybe it's because Japanese made those gadgets.

Or maybe it's just a "grass-is-greener" syndrome.

In some respects...

[nordicfrost]

...USA lags behind Europe too. Europe was quicker to adopt the digital mobile world with SMS and e-payment. USA has been the leader in big iron, Japan and Europe leaders in small, creative and applied tech.

Re:In some respects...

[Octorian]

The issue of USA vs. Others on the mobile/wireless world really bothers me, because I feel like the pundits are missing some important factors. First, the US has built a wired telecommunications infrastructure, and we've been doing it for so long that the wireless infrastructure is more of a "like to have" than a "need to have". Second, we have so much more land area and spread-out population that implementing anything requiring wide-scale infrastructure is far more difficult to begin with.

duh

[nil5]

because we spend our money on the latest and greatest weapons and warfare.

inarguably.

Well one obvious reason is infrastructure

[hsmith]

it is a lot harder to change around cell technologies due to how spread out the US is, Japan you have a dense packed population.

if we were all packed into rhode island you would see some awesome technology becuase updating the infrastrucutre would take no time at all.

Could it be...

[Anonymous Coward]

Could it be that I prefer to not be monitored by my toilet?

Re:Moving back to asia

[Swamii]

One of my main reasons which drive me to move back to asia, for all the gadget glory.

The other reason being your fetish for Japanese midgets, for all the midget wrestling glory.

The Amish don't have urine sugar sensing toilets!

[scotay]

Why do the Mennonites get all the good stuff first?

It's the tech in Japan, and the food in Europe...

[ivan256]

At least we can import Japanese technology. Customs won't confiscate something for not complying with FCC regulations, but they will confiscate food!

In Europe you're allowed to make and sell things that contain non-pasturized dairy products. In the US, you're not. Apparently americans aren't allowed to determine for themselves what is or isn't an acceptable risk. So the best European young cheeses and chocolates have poor substitutes as their namesakes in the US.

To make matters worse, they've convinced people here that "ultra-pasturized" means "better", even though it just means they used extra high temperatures to get it done more quickly and save money at the expense of flavor. That means the milk here doesn't taste nearly as good as it could under the current regulations. All this in the name of safety, yet at the same time, you can't get irradiated beef...

Sigh.

Re:Ob. South Park Ref.

[Schemat1c]

Japanese guy: "Yes, We may have best gadgets, but you Americans have bigga penis"

Judging by all the Hummer II's I've been seeing, not so much.

Smart toilet.

[titusjan]

Johnny stumbles to the bathroom to answer the call of nature using the household's amazing Matsushita-brand Smart Toilet, which automatically measures his weight, body fat, blood pressure and urine sugar and sends the results to the Sokko family physician via the Internet.

"Your urine contains traces of an illegal subtance. The bathroom door has been locked and the police has been notified. Please remain seated until they arrive.

Thank you for using Matsushita."

In a nutshell ...

[RealAlaskan]

The article says that Americans don't get the gadgets because we

1) don't really want them very badly, and
2) don't have the infrastructure to support most of them (see (1)).

The Japanese are largely status-seeking early-adopters, says the article, while most Americans just don't care. Fewer Americans are early adopters, and those of us who are into conspicuous consumption prefer non-technological money wasters, like big houses, Persian rugs, and so on.

I'd say that most Americans I've met resemble those remarks.

There. Now you don't have to waste any time reading the article.

Fantasy Island

[HarveyBirdman]

1. Sony PSP (Playstation Portable)

Wow! The power of a Plastation *1* with a tiny screen! Be still my heart! Sorry, but small and portable does not automatically equate to "cool" anymore. I feel the same lack of caring I felt when cell phones started having games I played on my Atari 800. TrueEnvy Factor: 0

2. Sharp Zaurus SL-C3000:

Another dumbass tiny computer running a dumber ass OS. Who cares? Why is this cool? TruEnvy Factor: One complimentary BSOD.

3. DoCoMo "Mobile FeliCa" Payment System:

Wow. More ways to spend money. I'm sure retailers like this. Is it that difficult to slide the credit card through the little slot, and then just pay the bills at the end of the month? Have some perspective, folks. People use to have to carry cows, sheep and dughters around with them in order to effect trade. And DoCoMo sounds like a Pokemon creature. TruEnvy Factor: -2

4. The NEC V601N:

TeeVee on my cell phone. Who cares? What sort of deprived life do you have to lead to give a fook about this stuff? TrueEnvy Factor: Undetectable by modern scientific instrumentality.

5. SONY Clie VZ-90:

I bought a PDA once. Within a month I was back to a small Meade paper and pen based scheduling system and never looked back. TruEnvy Factor: Planck's constant.

6. Takara's Dream Factory

New Age hits Japan. I fear for the anime industry. TrueEnvy Factor: Three tenths of a quartz crystal.

7. Sony HMP-A1 Portable Media Player: Wish your iPod could play back movies?

No. Not really.

Sony hopes you do.

Sony would like the PIN numbers to my accounts as well.

Its new HMP-A1 PMP offers 20 gigabytes of MP3 and MPEG-4 playback goodness

*snore*

it even has a video-out jack so you can watch your flicks on a big-screen TV instead of its embedded sharp but tiny 3.5-inch screen.

Thus illustrating its pointlessness. TrueEnvy Factor: One negasphere of nonexistence.

Re:Fantasy Island

[zx75]

Congratulations! You have successfully recorded an American attitude to *new and shiny things*, the primary reason WHY the Japanese have access to the latest and greatest while the US must wait.

Re:Fantasy Island

[HarveyBirdman]

You have successfully recorded an American attitude to *new and shiny things*

What? We like things to have some level of actual use and practicality?

Damn, I only *wish* people in this country thought like that. We'd never have a budget deficit ever again.

the primary reason WHY the Japanese have access to the latest and greatest while the US must wait.

And yet, somehow, life goes on.

dynamism

[necrognome]

Check out Dynamism for import gear with US warranties and support. Compact Impact has some cool gear to show off, and also has a showroom in the East Village (this store was previously named TKNY). If you are a New Yorker, the showroom is worth a visit, because the owner is a wacky guy who makes custom computers without moving parts.

test dummies

[Doc Ruby]

Market conditions in Japan and America are locked in a cause/effect loop. Underneath the Japanese teen rage for new devices, and the American sloth in buying a few innovations at WalMart, are the marketing machines behind the markets.

"Japan's trade surplus with the United States remains astronomically high, at over $6 billion; yet [Japan] keeps its most innovative and exciting widgetry to itself, selling it only to the domestic market."

Neither Japanese manufacturers nor American stores want to take big risks in marketing untested products to a fickle market, but they also depend on competing with their old devices based largely on "newness". So Japanese manufacturers test their devices in Japan, figuring out which are popular with whom, before they send any to the US to be sold for the big revenue.

None of that is going to change any time soon. The only way for Americans to get stuff first, as a test market, is to make it first. Like we do with content: movies, music, fashion; American manufacturers test that stuff here (even when the factories are overseas), then market the winners over there. It's not so much where the factories are, as where are the innovators and marketers, and the test markets where they can afford to fail before going global.

Three years ago...

[Chagatai]

My wife and I went to Japan for our honeymoon. Naturally, we went to Akihabara twice during our visit. I was so amazed at the gear that they had there three years ago that is still barely showing up here. They already had full-blown DVD camcorders for fairly reasonable prices. We tried on a pair of goggles that gave the person wearing them a virtual cinema, projecting what appeared to be a 80" screen for TV, movies, and computer systems (!) in front of the user, complete with stereo sound. The cost? About $400. Hell, they even had cellphones playing some sort of Dreamcast game (I believe it was Space Channel 5). We both left the "Electric Town" wondering why we hadn't seen any of this in the US; now this article makes a little more sense of it.

Then again, everything is cooler... in Japan!!!

Supporting irradiated beef ???

[MyTwoCentsWorth]

Of course, hearing the word irradiated beef makes one shudder... since people refuse to understand that irradiating food is one of the safest way of preserving it for long terms without the need for refrigeration, artificial preservatives, etc.
As soon as someone can how me ONE study showing ANY danger from irradiated food, and we can start comparing it against the well know risks of all the other preservation methods.
It's a pity that most people do not try to think about this, but reject it automatically.
Have fun posting.

Obligatory DNF reference

[sconeu]

So do they have Duke Nukem Forever yet?

Re:Perspective

[beerits]

Professional Wrestling
Professional Wrestling is more popular in Japan than it is in the United States.

Re:Discretionary

[WaterBreath]

It's important to note that a big part of this conservatism is in the corporate aspect of society. The U.S. has many well-established industries that are integral to our economy. And they, instead of embracing new technology and making the most out of them, don't want to bet the company on changing their business model which has worked for decades. And since they're integral to the economy, the government is scared to force them to evolve with the times, for fear they will fail and hurt the country as a whole. Japan, whose entire government and economy had to be "rebooted" earlier in this century, has a huge advantage over us in that respect. They know an awful lot about moving consistently forward.

For examples, just look to the telecom and automotive industries. Why are American cars still dependent on oil? Why, for crap's sake, is it not okay for the government to provide free wirless broadband access in Philadelphia? Because the corporations are afraid to give way to advancement and try something new. I'm pretty sure there are not many people in Philly who would not like to have free wireless internet, but they don't get a say because some corporation doesn't like it.

If you ask me, businesses will be the only first-class citizens in this nation very soon. Just look how much sway they hold just by saying to the government "you can't do that, it will hurt our profit margins." For crap's sake, sink or swim. Evolve, or become extinct. Japan is evolving. We are not.

Wrong, as usual.

[sakusha]

The writer betrays his lack of understanding of the Japanese market, let alone culture. He blunders forward with the usual stereotypes, and totally fails to understand the fundamentals. The issue has nothing to do with "tribes," disposable income, or small housing.

Japan is a small country, where fads rise and fall much more rapidly than in a larger country like the US. This means products tend to compete over much smaller market sectors, with much shorter market lives. Think about the Tamagotchi. Bandai couldn't keep up with demand, they built new factories to keep up with demand, but by the time the factories were ready, the fad had died. Bandai went into bankruptcy.
Japanese markets are like a pressure cooker, products have short lives, and incremental improvements are added to produce new products to replace the old ones. This philosophy of "continuous improvement" is known as kaizen. Products in Japan evolve more rapidly than in other countries.
Japanese consumers are also better educated than other countries. There is a whole industry of magazines devoted to the most miniscule details of every product on the market. I remember seeing one fashion magazine that spent 20 pages just discussing the quality of stitching in men's dress shirts. And Japanese computer magazines are the same, they put US magazines to shame. Japanese consumers will not put up with anything less than the best products, driving the kaizen cycle even faster.
Japanese corporations are quick to take advantage of the home market. There are thousands of consumer products released in Japan that never make it to the international market, and this is intentional. Japan is the test market. Sometimes a product will go through several improvements before it's ready for larger world markets. Products that flop in Japan aren't even considered for internationalization. Japanese consumers are the beta testers of the world.

Couldn't be because

[HangingChad]

It's easier to get products to market in Japan without being regulated to death? And here in the litigation-happy USA we'll sue any of you almond-eyed little weasels trying to import anything that isn't completely, 100% idiot proof. Because here we have no responsibility for our personal choices. If we decide to use one of your electronic gizmos as a tub toy and that electrically powered instrument isn't clearly marked DO NOT USE AS A TUB TOY, we're going to sue your ass.

Because this is the country where we have to put stickers on pop machines that say if you pull this pop machine over on yourself you might die, where we have to print DO NOT DRIVE WITH SUN SHIELD IN PLACE on the back of cardboard sun screens and PULL TAB TO OPEN because sure as you're born there will be some idiot trying to cut the top of the can off with his pocket knife and he'll slip and cut himself.

Yes, we've really become that stupid. Just look at who we elected president any time you're tempted to doubt it.

Re:Couldn't be because

[Heian-794]

Litigation-happy is the right word. Here in Japan, companies can release really cool, but buggy and defective, technology without the fear of customers returning it in droves. It's just too difficult to return any product in Japan that people give up and buy new ones. Contrast that with the US where you can sometimes return a book to the store even after obviously reading it, or returning clothing. Inconceivable in Japan, sometimes even when the defect is the company's fault -- the army of lawyers in the US would never allow such a state of affairs.

I've said it before...

[KanSer]

and I'll say it again. The only reason Japan and Japanese have these sweet 500$ cell-phones is because they see it as a perfectly good investment every 6 months to a year. They relish the new phone with new features, or one that is slimmer or cooler than the next.

In America we want a 99c phone. That's why we get hamstrung in these ridiculous 3 year or more service contracts. If you actually spend the same amount of money that Japanese do on phones, you'll quickly find you have very similair or the same phone.

Seriously, there is no "reason" why they get cool gadgets and we don't. It's not like there's a huge creature in the Pacific that feasts on cargo ships. We just don't want to pay $400 some odd bucks up front. We prefer low monthly installments. /rolls eyes

This also explains the year-18 month lag in tech. We just wait for it to get cheap. (Which is ironic, because we Americans as a whole try to piss money away faster than we can earn it.)

Re:Discretionary

[Desert Raven]

Japan, whose entire government and economy had to be "rebooted" earlier in this century, has a huge advantage over us in that respect. They know an awful lot about moving consistently forward.

Have you looked at the Japanese economy over the past 5 years? Saying it's in the toilet would be an understatement. It's showing signs of recovering, but our little mini-recession looked like a major bubble compared to Japan's economy.

Why are American cars still dependent on oil?

Because like it or not, it's still the most efficient/economic method of powering vehicles in a country where average travel distances are large. I-C engines also have extreme longevity when compared to many other methods. I've owned three vehicles that passed 75K miles, and one with over 100K miles, all maintained in good condition and running strong. Electrics just aren't economical to maintain for that kind of usage. On the plus side for the future, we finally are seeing some technologies with the possibility of changing this, and one interim method, biodiesel.

Why, for crap's sake, is it not okay for the government to provide free wirless broadband access in Philadelphia?

Because that's not their job. Their job is to provide essential emergency services, maintain the transportation infrastructure and provide defense. They should no more be building wireless ISPs than they should be building multi-billion dollar playgrounds for spoiled millionares (stadiums). Besides, inspite of how cool it sounds, have you ever seen the government do any long-term project right? Most Pennsylvania governments have a hard time keeping the potholes down to non-fatal sizes, and you want them to run your ISP? I grew up near Philly, I wouldn't trust them with tin cans and string.

I'm pretty sure there are not many people in Philly who would not like to have free wireless internet,

It's not "free", the government raises taxes to pay for it, which means a lot of folks who don't want or need it still have to pay for it, and that's not fair.

Quality tolerance

[gammoth]

I was born and raised in California. When I was a young adult, I moved overseas for 10 years. When I returned about 6 years ago, one of the first things to strike me was Americans' tolerance for mediocrity, both in products and services. Just as long as they can get a ton of stuff that work good enough without having to read the manual.

That tolerance, coupled with a pervasive belief that America has the best of everything, from political systems to health care to consumer products (many Americans hate it when I give counter examples--really rocks their world view), suggests a fertile ground for technological stagnation.

Tell me to piss off if you like. I couldn't give a toss.

Re:Discretionary

[glockenspieler]

Ok, i can't suppress the urge to reply to this.

"Why, for crap's sake, is it not okay for the government to provide free wirless broadband access in Philadelphia?"

Because that's not their job. Their job is to provide essential emergency services, maintain the transportation infrastructure and provide defense. They should no more be building wireless

The definition of "emergency services" and "infrastructure" should be allowed to evolve. We may very well be at the beginning of a process where continual connectivity is indeed a part of critical infrastructure that is the legitimate role of government. To legislate this out of existence seems a bit presumptive and smacks of protecting corporate interests.

of how cool it sounds, have you ever seen the government do any long-term project right? Most Pennsylvania governments have a hard time keeping the potholes down to non-fatal sizes, and you want them to run your ISP? I grew up near Philly, I wouldn't trust them with tin cans and string.

Many cities have functioning water supplies, sewer systems, electicity grids. No all function optimally but we get the water, we don't get sick from it, and our poo goes by by. Yes, government can function and this government hating mantra so common these days is vastly overdone.

"Im pretty sure there are not many people in Philly who would not like to have free wireless internet"

It's not "free", the government raises taxes to pay for it, which means a lot of folks who don't want or need it still have to pay for it, and that's not fair.

Excellent point. There are parts of the city that I never go in, why the hell am i paying for street lights there. I never use the damned things. Its unfair people, blatantly unfair!. Do you ever stop to consider, just once, the possibility that you may derive indirect benefits from things and that government isn't about benefiting just YOU, its about the community. I think that a reasonable argument could be made that there might be benefits to the community. At least its not obvious that this is completely inappropriate for government.