Telegram Not Dead STOP Alive, Evolving In Japan STOP

itwbennett writes Japan is one of the last countries in the world where telegrams are still widely used. A combination of traditional manners, market liberalization and innovation has kept alive this age-old form of messaging. Companies affiliated with the country's three mobile carriers, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and SoftBank, offer telegrams, which are sent via modern server networks instead of the dedicated electrical wires of the past (Morse telegraphy hasn't been used since 1962), and then printed out with modern printers instead of tape glued on paper. But customers are still charged according to the length of the message, which is delivered within three hours. A basic NTT telegram up to 25 characters long can be sent for ¥440 ($4.30) when ordered online.

Comments

Japan is still pretty backwards in some ways

[Tyrannicsupremacy]

Also worth mentioning is the way employees are paid, frequently envelopes of cash, direct deposit is not very popular yet there.

Re:Japan is still pretty backwards in some ways

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are a paid employee in Japan, your income tax is withheld directly from your salary. You don't even need to file a tax return unless you have source of income other than your primary employer.

Also, direct deposit is quite common at least among large organizations. Even part time workers get paid by direct deposit. I don't have experience or knowledge of smaller organizations though.

Disclaimer: I am Japanese, but I haven't worked in the country for about 10 years now. My comment is based on my experience, so it surely is outdated. Cursory search on the web also indicates a lot of Japanese now consider cash payments largely outdated as well as security risk. That said cash payments can still be found at smaller companies and in certain industry (such as movers and construction workers).

What's your preferred method of communication?

[Dins]

You've probably never heard of it.

Might even be pragmatic sometimes

[Sockatume]

Quite aside from tradition, which is great, there are situations where you need to send a message to a physical address. Maybe the occupant doesn't have a phone or email, or you don't know their contact details, or whether they even have a phone or email. If that message has to get there within three hours rather than overnight, then the $4.30 rate is pretty competitive with getting an express courier to carry a post-it note.

Black Adder Reference

[Nahooda]

Black Adder:
To Mr. Charlie Chaplin, Sennet Studios, Hollywood, California. Congrats stop. Have found only person in world less funny than you stop. Name Baldrick stop. Signed E. Blackadder stop. Oh, and put a P.S.: please, please, please stop

Chaplin's answer at end of episode:
Twice nightly filming of my films in trenches: excellent idea stop. But must insist that E. Blackadder be projectionist stop. P.S. Don't let him ever... stop

My Grandfather told me

[Truth_Quark]

That when he heard his brother and wife had had their fifth child he sent a telegram that went: Congratulations Stop

Re:Makes sense

[JanneM]

Stamping documents is seen as a way to say "I have checked this" or "I endorse this", and because you can't stamp an email or text message they print, stamp and fax documents.

I'm working in Japan, and while I almost never get or send a fax any more (it must be years now), it's decently common to send and receive PDF scans over email. In fact, sometimes you need to print out the scan, add your stamp, re-scan and send it back. I do - want to print a reference copy for myself anyhow - but I suspect some people simply add their stamp graphic to the document directly.