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Time Business News
2 days ago
- Time Business News
Japan used to be a tech giant. Why is it stuck with fax machines and ink stamps?
Japan's Tech Paradox: Futuristic Aesthetics vs. Outdated Realities: In movies like 'Akira' and 'Ghost in the Shell,' intelligent robots and holograms populate a futuristic Japan, and neon-lit skyscrapers and the city's famed bullet train system come to mind. But there's a more mundane side of Japan that you won't find anywhere in these cyberpunk films. It involves personalized ink stamps, floppy disks, and fax machines—relics that have long since disappeared in other advanced nations but have stubbornly persisted in Japan. The delay in digital technology and subsequent bureaucracy are, for everyday residents, at best inconvenient, and at worst make you want to tear your hair out. 'Japanese banks are portals to hell,' one Facebook user wrote in a local expat group. A sarcastic commenter said, 'Maybe sending a fax would help,' Japan's Digital Struggles: A Delayed Transformation The scale of the problem became terrifyingly clear during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the Japanese government struggled to respond to a nationwide crisis with clumsy digital tools. They have launched a dedicated effort to close that gap over the years, including a brand-new Digital Agency and numerous new initiatives. However, they are entering the technology race decades late, 36 years after the World Wide Web was launched and more than 50 years after the first email was sent. Now as the country races to transform itself, the question remains: What took them so long, and can they still catch up? How did they get here? This was not always the case. In the 1970s and 1980s, when companies like Sony, Toyota, Panasonic, and Nintendo became household names, Japan was admired all over the world. The Walkman and games like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. were brought to the world by Japan. But that changed by the turn of the century with the rise of computers and the internet. Why Japan Fell Behind in the Digital Age: According to Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's Economic Security and Policy Innovation Program, 'Japan, with its strengths in hardware, was slow to adapt to software and services' as the world moved toward software-driven economies. He said that a variety of things made the problem worse. As Japan's electronics industry declined, engineers fled to foreign firms as a result of the country's inadequate investment in ICT. As a result, the government lacked skilled tech workers and had low digital literacy. Public services were never properly modernized and remained reliant on paper documents and hand-carved, personalized seals called hanko that are used for identity verification. Over time, various ministries and agencies adopted their own patchwork IT strategies, but there was never a unified government push. There were cultural factors, too. Kawai stated, 'Japanese companies are known for their risk-averse culture, seniority-based… hierarchical system, and a slow, consensus-driven decision-making process that hampered innovation.' And thanks to Japan's plummeting birthrate, it has far more old people than young people. According to Kawai, this large proportion of elderly people had 'relatively little demand or pressure for digital services' and a greater skepticism regarding new technologies and digital fraud. Japan's Digital Transformation: From Fax Machines to the Future Jonathan Coopersmith, emeritus professor of history at Texas A&M University, stated that apathy was widespread. Small businesses and individuals didn't feel compelled to switch from fax machines to computers: Why buy expensive new machinery and learn how to use it, when fax worked fine and everybody in Japan used it anyway? A possible switch would have been too disruptive to everyday services, according to larger businesses and institutions like banks and hospitals. Coopersmith, who wrote a book about the fax machine in 2015 and wrote about Japan's relationship with it, stated, 'The bigger you are, the harder it is to change, especially software.' Additionally, it posed a legal problem. Any new technology necessitates new laws, as demonstrated by the introduction of electric scooters into the road or the attempts made by nations around the world to legislate against deepfakes and AI copyright following the AI boom. Digitizing Japan would have required changing thousands of regulations, Coopersmith estimates – and lawmakers simply had no incentive to do so. After all, digitization isn't necessarily a major factor in voter turnout in elections. 'Why do I want to become part of the digital world if I don't need to?' was how he summed it up. A hanko is stamped on a banking document in an arranged photograph taken in Tokyo, Japan A global pandemic was ultimately necessary to bring about change. Japan's technological gap became evident as national and local authorities became overwhelmed, without the digital tools to streamline their processes. Japan's health ministry launched an online portal for hospitals to report cases instead of handwritten faxes, phone calls, or emails in May 2020, months after the virus began to spread worldwide. And even then, hiccups persisted. Public broadcaster NHK reported that a contact tracing app had a system error that lasted for months but didn't let people know they might be exposed. Many had never used file-sharing services or video tools like Zoom before, making it difficult for them to adjust to working and attending school remotely. In one mind-boggling case in 2022, a Japanese town accidentally wired the entirety of its Covid relief fund – about 46.3 million yen ($322,000) – to just one man's bank account. The confusion stemmed from the bank being given both a floppy disk of information and a paper request form – but by the time authorities realized their error, the man had already gambled away most of the funds, according to NHK. For anyone under 35, a floppy disk is a magnetic memory strip encased in plastic that is physically inserted into a computer. Each one typically stores up to 1.44 MB of data, which is less than the size of an average iPhone photo. The situation became so bad that Takuya Hirai, who would become the country's Minister of Digital Transformation in 2021, once referred to the country's response to the pandemic as a 'digital defeat.' According to Coopersmith, a 'combination of fear and opportunity' led to the birth of the Digital Agency, a division tasked with bringing Japan up to speed. Created in 2021, it launched a series of initiatives including rolling out a smart version of Japan's social security card and pushing for more cloud-based infrastructure. Last July, the Digital Agency finally declared victory in its 'war on floppy disks,' eliminating the disks across all government systems – a mammoth effort that required scrapping more than 1,000 regulations governing their use. But there were growing pains, too. Local media reported that the government once asked the public for their thoughts on the metaverse through a complicated process that required downloading an Excel spreadsheet, entering your information, and sending the document back to the ministry via email. 'The (ministry) will respond properly using an (online) form from now on,' wrote then-Digital Minister Taro Kono on Twitter following the move's social media backlash. Digitization as 'a way to survive' According to Kawai, businesses rushed to follow the government's lead, hiring consultants and contractors to assist in system overhauls. Consultant Masahiro Goto is one example. He has assisted large Japanese companies in all sectors in adapting to the digital world as part of the digital transformation team at the Nomura Research Institute (NRI), designing new business models and implementing new internal systems. He stated to CNN that these clients frequently 'are eager to move forward, but they're unsure how to go about it.' 'Many are still using old systems that require a lot of maintenance, or systems that are approaching end-of-service life. In many cases, that's when they reach out to us for help.' According to Goto, the number of businesses seeking the services of NRI consultants 'has definitely been rising year by year,' particularly over the past five years. As a result, the NRI consultants are in high demand. And for good reason: for years, Japanese companies outsourced their IT needs, meaning they now lack the in-house skills to fully digitize. A sign for cashless payments outside a shop in the trendy Omotesando district of Tokyo. He stated, 'Fundamentally, they want to improve the efficiency of their operations, and I believe they want to actively adopt digital technologies as a means of survival.' 'In the end, Japan's population will continue to fall, so increasing productivity is essential.' According to local media, the Digital Agency's plan to eliminate fax machines within the government received 400 formal objections from various ministries in 2021. There may be resistance in certain pockets. Things like the hanko seal – which are rooted in tradition and custom, and which some parents gift to their children when they come of age – may be harder to phase out given their cultural significance. According to Kawai, the rate of progress is also influenced by the Digital Agency's willingness to push for regulatory reform and the degree to which lawmakers will give digitization top priority when creating future budgets. Additionally, new technologies are advancing rapidly in other regions of the world, and Japan is playing catch-up with shifting targets. Coopersmith stated, 'This is going to be an ongoing challenge because the digital technologies of 2025 will be different from those of 2030, 2035.' But experts are optimistic. Kawai projects that Japan could catch up to some Western peers in five to ten years at this rate. Finally, there is a public demand for it, as more and more businesses are offering new online services and accepting cashless payments. 'People are generally eager to digitize for sure,' said Kawai. 'I'm sure that young people, or the general public, prefer to digitize as fast as possible.' Blogger Profile: Name: Usama Arshad Website link: TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Japan-US-Philippines hold coast guard drills with eye on China
AP image KAGOSHIMA: Japan's coast guard will simulate a collision between vessels Friday during joint exercises with the United States and the Philippines seen as a show of unity against Chinese activity in disputed regional waters. It is the second time the countries' coast guards have held training drills together, following their first joint maritime exercise in the Philippines in 2023. Friday's simulation of a collision, fire and person overboard, which AFP reporters will observe, cap a week of exercises off Japan's southwest coast that began Monday. Dozens of personnel are taking part in the drills that officials say are not targeted at any one nation -- while using language often employed by Washington and its allies to indirectly refer to China. Hiroaki Odachi, the regional head of Japan's coast guard, said the exercises aimed to contribute "to the realisation of a free and open" Asia-Pacific region. Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas have driven Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and the United States in recent years. In 2024, the three countries issued a joint statement that included stronger language towards Beijing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "We express our serious concerns about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea," it said, describing "dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels". They also expressed "strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea". 'Volatile flashpoint' China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea also routinely stage face-offs around disputed islands. Friday marks the 214th straight day that Chinese vessels have been spotted sailing near the Tokyo-administered disputed islets known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, according to the Japan coast guard. The current record is 215 straight days in 2023-24. "Such persistent intrusion raises a risk of accidental collision or confrontation in the East China Sea," Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's economic security and policy innovation programme, told AFP. Meanwhile "the South China Sea is now regarded as one of the world's most volatile flashpoints, I would say, where any accident at sea could escalate into the border crisis." "A trilateral coast guard framework bolsters maritime domain awareness and law enforcement capacity, making it harder for any one nation, China, to pick off a smaller player in isolation," Kawai said. The three countries have also carried out joint military exercises to bolster regional cooperation. Last week Tokyo and Beijing traded barbs over close encounters between their military planes over the Pacific high seas. Japan says recent Chinese military activities in the Pacific -- where Beijing's two operating aircraft carriers were sighted simultaneously for the first time -- reveal its intent to improve operational capacity in remote areas.
Int'l Business Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Japan-US-Philippines Hold Coast Guard Drills With Eye On China
Japan's coast guard will simulate a collision between vessels Friday during joint exercises with the United States and the Philippines seen as a show of unity against Chinese activity in disputed regional waters. It is the second time the countries' coast guards have held training drills together, following their first joint maritime exercise in the Philippines in 2023. Friday's simulation of a collision, fire and person overboard, which AFP reporters will observe, cap a week of exercises off Japan's southwest coast that began Monday. Dozens of personnel are taking part in the drills that officials say are not targeted at any one nation -- while using language often employed by Washington and its allies to indirectly refer to China. Hiroaki Odachi, the regional head of Japan's coast guard, said the exercises aimed to contribute "to the realisation of a free and open" Asia-Pacific region. Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas have driven Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and the United States in recent years. In 2024, the three countries issued a joint statement that included stronger language towards Beijing. "We express our serious concerns about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea," it said, describing "dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels". They also expressed "strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea". China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea also routinely stage face-offs around disputed islands. Friday marks the 214th straight day that Chinese vessels have been spotted sailing near the Tokyo-administered disputed islets known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The current record is 215 straight days in 2023-24. "Such persistent intrusion raises a risk of accidental collision or confrontation in the East China Sea," Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's economic security and policy innovation programme, told AFP. Meanwhile "the South China Sea is now regarded as one of the world's most volatile flashpoints, I would say, where any accident at sea could escalate into the border crisis." "A trilateral coast guard framework bolsters maritime domain awareness and law enforcement capacity, making it harder for any one nation, China, to pick off a smaller player in isolation," Kawai said. The three countries have also carried out joint military exercises to bolster regional cooperation. Last week Tokyo and Beijing traded barbs over close encounters between their military planes over the Pacific high seas. Japan says recent Chinese military activities in the Pacific -- where Beijing's two operating aircraft carriers were sighted simultaneously for the first time -- reveal its intent to improve operational capacity in remote areas.
France 24
20-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Japan-US-Philippines hold coast guard drills with eye on China
It is the second time the countries' coast guards have held training drills together, following their first joint maritime exercise in the Philippines in 2023. Friday's simulation of a collision, fire and person overboard, which AFP reporters will observe, cap a week of exercises off Japan's southwest coast that began Monday. Dozens of personnel are taking part in the drills that officials say are not targeted at any one nation -- while using language often employed by Washington and its allies to indirectly refer to China. Hiroaki Odachi, the regional head of Japan's coast guard, said the exercises aimed to contribute "to the realisation of a free and open" Asia-Pacific region. Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas have driven Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and the United States in recent years. In 2024, the three countries issued a joint statement that included stronger language towards Beijing. "We express our serious concerns about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea," it said, describing "dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels". They also expressed "strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea". 'Volatile flashpoint' China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea also routinely stage face-offs around disputed islands. Friday marks the 214th straight day that Chinese vessels have been spotted sailing near the Tokyo-administered disputed islets known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The current record is 215 straight days in 2023-24. "Such persistent intrusion raises a risk of accidental collision or confrontation in the East China Sea," Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's economic security and policy innovation programme, told AFP. Meanwhile "the South China Sea is now regarded as one of the world's most volatile flashpoints, I would say, where any accident at sea could escalate into the border crisis." "A trilateral coast guard framework bolsters maritime domain awareness and law enforcement capacity, making it harder for any one nation, China, to pick off a smaller player in isolation," Kawai said. The three countries have also carried out joint military exercises to bolster regional cooperation. Last week Tokyo and Beijing traded barbs over close encounters between their military planes over the Pacific high seas. Japan says recent Chinese military activities in the Pacific -- where Beijing's two operating aircraft carriers were sighted simultaneously for the first time -- reveal its intent to improve operational capacity in remote areas.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Flying within 45 metres': Japan finds Chinese fighter jets dangerously close to military aircraft; Tokyo raises 'serious concerns'
Photo of Chinese jet for representational purposes. Japan on Thursday conveyed 'serious concerns' after Chinese fighter aircraft approached dangerously close to a Japanese military surveillance aircraft in the Pacific during the previous weekend. This occurrence followed the observation of two Chinese aircraft carriers navigating together in the Pacific for the first time, including within Japan's economic waters. Japan indicated this week that the aircraft carriers' activities - which China described as "routine training" - demonstrated the widening geographical reach of China's military operations. A spokesperson from Japan's defence ministry informed AFP on Thursday that Chinese fighter aircraft had flown "unusually close" to the Japanese patrol aircraft. On Saturday, a Chinese J-15 fighter from the Shandong aircraft carrier tracked a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft for 40 minutes, followed by two J-15 jets doing the same for 80 minutes on Sunday, according to the spokesperson. "Throughout these extended periods, the jets maintained an unusually close proximity to the P-3C, flying within 45 metres" of the patrol aircraft at identical altitude on both occasions, he stated. On Sunday, the Chinese jets traversed the airspace approximately 900 metres ahead of the Japanese patrol aircraft - a distance coverable by a P-3C within seconds at cruising speed, the spokesperson added. "These irregular approaches risk accidental collisions, hence we have expressed serious concerns" to China and requested prevention of similar incidents, stated a defence ministry release. The statement confirmed no Japanese military personnel sustained injuries. A second defence ministry spokesperson informed AFP that Japan's message was conveyed through diplomatic channels and between defence ministry officials of both countries. A comparable incident was previously reported over a decade ago in May and June 2014, when Chinese Su-27 fighter jets flew within 30 metres of Japan's military aircraft. Daisuke Kawai, who directs the University of Tokyo's economic security and policy innovation programme, told AFP earlier this week that the aircraft carrier movements' timing might correlate with US-China economic tensions. "Beijing calculated that the United States would be less willing or able to respond militarily at this precise moment, seeing it as an opportune time to demonstrate its expanding military capabilities," he said.
