Great post. We need to translate into Japanese and give it a wide publicity. I have been living in Japan for 7 years, and work related to the country for 20 years. Backward, safe, relatively clean country. Obviously, NOT high tech.
This is astounding and absolutely not what I expected on Japan. So archai in many ways, not too dissimilar with baabus in subcontinental bureaucracies.
Visting Japan in 2018, I was struck by something very similar (and the contrast with China and ubiquitous QR codes was quite stark, as you said!)
My impression was one of retrofuturism - that I was looking into the future from the vantage point of the 1980s. Like reading an Asimov novel where the Galactic Empire keeps libraries full of microfilm reels. There was high tech I hadn't experienced at home in the US (the Shinkansen!) and the science museums promised mag-levs and humanoid robots right around the corner. But paper currency was still a necessity and the websites were unnavigable.
Beautiful country and a great experience. Would love to go back. But I see no reason why they shouldn't have both bullet trains and modern IT and banking services.
The contrast is thought provoking - it makes me wonder what basic technology/practices foreign visitors to the US most often find to be absent, and what sorts of excuses I'd give for why we don't have them.
Thanks for publishing on Substack, but I still want you to post via FAX, too!
😄
Hope Orientation book will be on Kindle one day. Curious…
It’s available on kindle as an audio book and in Japanese translation as well 🤗 It’s called Orienting: An Indian in Japan
Thank you. Is there Kindle version in English? I will recommend Japanese version to local friends.
Great post. We need to translate into Japanese and give it a wide publicity. I have been living in Japan for 7 years, and work related to the country for 20 years. Backward, safe, relatively clean country. Obviously, NOT high tech.
I laughed all the way. How true. I personally like certain analog aspects of life in Japan, but come on, faxes and floppies are just ridiculous.
This is astounding and absolutely not what I expected on Japan. So archai in many ways, not too dissimilar with baabus in subcontinental bureaucracies.
Visting Japan in 2018, I was struck by something very similar (and the contrast with China and ubiquitous QR codes was quite stark, as you said!)
My impression was one of retrofuturism - that I was looking into the future from the vantage point of the 1980s. Like reading an Asimov novel where the Galactic Empire keeps libraries full of microfilm reels. There was high tech I hadn't experienced at home in the US (the Shinkansen!) and the science museums promised mag-levs and humanoid robots right around the corner. But paper currency was still a necessity and the websites were unnavigable.
Beautiful country and a great experience. Would love to go back. But I see no reason why they shouldn't have both bullet trains and modern IT and banking services.
The contrast is thought provoking - it makes me wonder what basic technology/practices foreign visitors to the US most often find to be absent, and what sorts of excuses I'd give for why we don't have them.