[stalker]

Or at least its cities? From this article, it sure sounds like it! Genuinely surprised by this.

Robots, high speed trains, electric cars, and cutting edge electronics; you know what country I’m talking about, right? Japan. But, move away from the bright, hi-tech lights of Tokyo, and you will find none of the above anywhere to be seen. Shocked? This is Japan’s low tech reality.

Japan is very good at exporting its hi-tech image to the world. The Japanese have crafted a very clever image for themselves in their electronic paradise. It is true that Japan has contributed technological advancements to the world, but Japanese technology should come with a warning label, “For Export Only.” In reality, everyday Japan is far from cutting edge. Image this scenario: a place where the ATMs close at 9pm, offices without computers, fax machines in wide use and most homes without central heating. Hard to believe? Yes. But, this scenario is all too real in modern day Japan.

Two years ago I left Scotland and went to teach English in Japan. Stereotypical images of Japan were imbedded in my mind: hi-tech gadgets, heated toilet seats, vending machines and high speed trains. This stereotype was not incorrect, but once you move away from Tokyo, reality starts to kick in and you begin to wondering if you have travelled back in time…

continued...

[Terrik]

Having been to Japan a few times and am currently living in Shanghai, i can tell you, you could take almost everything in that article (except maybe the ATM thing--that's just odd) and apply it to China. There might be more wi-fi spots in China, but the connection is fairly slow for anything but domestic sites and you have to deal with pretty much anything useful being blocked. Unless it's a top tier school (or more well-off training centers and academies), most schools don't have a lot of IT equipment either, and if there is a computer lab, it's probably still on older computers using windows XP. I still have to use cash over credit card on a lot of things, but it's getting better.

But, move away from the bright, hi-tech lights of Tokyo, and you will find none of the above anywhere to be seen. Shocked? This is Japan’s low tech reality.

It's not a huge leap to go from the lights and dazzle of the Shanghai bund to this:







Not that this is surprising. China is still in it's development stage. I'm going to take a stab and say the majority of Japan, even places outside of Tokyo, is more modern than a lot of China, or least on par with it. I don't doubt China will surpass it at some point, but it's not there yet. It's not to say there aren't lots of places in China that are amazingly modern. I'm not saying life in China is uncomfortable either. Simply, that if I were wandering around Japan vs China, I'd probably feel Japan on the whole is more modern (although I'll say that China is probably more fun).

[jaytrance]

No, Japan is more modern

[Rei Murasame]

Well, the article is nonsense anyway, since you can quite quickly see that not one single Japanese person was asked for an opinion or explanation of any of these observations that were made.

The faux-surprise at the use of fax machines was especially ridiculous, has anyone ever seen a business card that didn't have a fax number on it? Come on.

The faux-outrage at the fact that some eccentric people are still using the Sony Walkman with analogue tapes or DATs is also silly, because a simple walk into any music store will show that pretty much everything is sold on CD and DVD and Blu-Ray.

On the ATM banking problem, if you are a visitor you should go to Sumitomo Mitsui Bank (SMBC) or Citibank or the Japanese Post Office, since those are the best situations in which to use a foreign credit or debit card. This isn't like some unknown super-secret thing, the author of that article - Jen McClure - would have been told that by someone if she had just thought to ask about it.

Regarding the heating thing, Japan is an innovator and heavy user of environmentally friendly air conditioning systems, because Mitsubishi, Toshiba, and Fujitsu are invested in that. Almost every house has one. There is no central heating. What you do is that in the summer you press the fucking 'reibou' button and adjust the temperature down. In winter? Press the fucking 'danbou' button and push the temperature up in each room! Hot air will be blasted into the rooms! This isn't rocket science, it just requires not being a pompous western asshole.

[Rainbow Crow]

It's kind of true, last time I was in Japan I visited Yokohama, the next city over from Tokyo. It felt like I had walked into down town Los Angeles except that everyone was Japanese. Things were very... normal. Tokyo is a very different place from the rest of the country.

[Rei Murasame]

Normal doesn't mean 'backward lo-tech', however. This article is claiming that it's actually backward, but it is no such thing.

[Igor Antunov]

As a whole no, China still has many underdeveloped regions, but in absolute terms, yes. China has more state of the art cities and facilities than Japan.

[Rei Murasame]

In absolute terms, China also has more pairs of shoes. You can win anything if you use absolute terms.

[Igor Antunov]

It also has many more mouths to feed. Such 'easy' advantages do not come cheaply.

[jaytrance]

As a whole no, China still has many underdeveloped regions, but in absolute terms, yes. China has more state of the art cities and facilities than Japan.

Quantity matters, but quality matters as well

[Decky]

Quantity has a quality all of its own.

[Igor Antunov]

I would say that China also has a higher absolute number of 'quality' doodads; train stations, airports, nuclear power plants, wind farms, chip factories, etc.

[jaytrance]

I would say that China also has a higher absolute number of 'quality' doodads; train stations, airports, nuclear power plants, wind farms, chip factories, etc.

Hello, my international comrade..

[Rio]

Japan is more, Japan is high-tech and China has slaves, what in my opinion is not modern.

[Igor Antunov]

Japanese are enslaved to the private companies they work at. You basically marry into them and can never leave. The corporate bosses dictate your life at home and with whom you associate. Once old japanese are left to fend for themselves because the family model has been destroyed. They usually end up homeless. Sucide rate is the highest on earth and so is elderly homeless rate.

[Godstud]

Japan is more modern, if you look at the country as a whole, and not just specific locations.

[Rio]

Japanese are enslaved to the private companies they work at. You basically marry into them and can never leave. The corporate bosses dictate your life at home and with whom you associate. Once old japanese are left to fend for themselves because the family model has been destroyed. They usually end up homeless. Sucide rate is the highest on earth and so is elderly homeless rate.

No, the japonese industries are not on Japan, they settled the industries on the Asian Tigers.

[Terrik]

Japan is more modern, if you look at the country as a whole, and not just specific locations.

Well that's the point. I've been in every geographical location in China save for the Northwest and no one can say China is more advanced with a straight face.

YES, there are some advanced facilities and airports and train stations, but such facilities are a much smaller percent of overall infrastructure. Even in the major cities themselves, there's a stark difference between the new and old. Shanghai hongqiao station may be nice, but Shanghai south is anything but.

And that's fine! That doesn't mean China is bad or doesn't have such facilities, simply that it's still developing. However, pretending China is something it's not will never help one's case. Even a lot of Chinese would find this comparison laughable, even if they didn't exactly have warm feelings for Japan.

[VoiceOfReason]

Japan is more modern, if you look at the country as a whole, and not just specific locations.

That's true. But consider these facts:

-Three Chinese astronauts on June 24, 2012 successfully completed a manual docking between the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and the orbiting Tiangong-1 lab module. Has Japan even developed their own manned space craft? (Hint: the answer starts with 'n.')

-- The world's first high-speed railway in areas with extremely low temperatures, the Harbin-Dalian rail, which runs through three provinces in northeast China, started operation on December 1. Can Japanese trains do this?

-- China on October 28 unveiled Asia's biggest radio telescope in Shanghai, which is used to track and collect data from satellites and space probes. Why is this not in Japan?

--China has nuclear weapons. Guess who doesn't. (Hint:...nevermind.)

--Great Fire Wall of China. Doesanyone else have such a sophisticated network of surveilance in place to monitor and block activities and things such as proxies? Repressive, but still impressive.

[Rei Murasame]

Has China launched a solar sail that is presently looking at the near-side of Venus using the force of solar propulsion? No, but Japan has.