Things Japan does better than the West/The West does better than Japan

[Chidoriashi]

I'd like to start an opinion thread and see what people think. I want everybody to name some things they think Japan does better than the West, and then name some things they think the West does better than Japan.

Japan does better than West: Make cars and tea

West better than Japan: Bulid houses, make pizza

 

[TheImmigrantSong]

Well are we just talking about everything in general here? If so I think that the Japanese mass public transportation system is far more efficiant than anything in the west by far, but the Japanese really do lack in their television and movie industry in my opinion. I don't get AFN or any american channels, so all I ever watch is Japanese TV (usually out of boredum). I find it pretty different and somewhat odd. But then again, that is just my opinion.

 

[pugtm]

Japan:more polite children, Cleaner cities, more technology
West: more aggressive children, more stable adults(less suicide), Better economics
Its becoming the same though not much is that different.

 

[hplaserjet6p]

Japan > West: goki-jet
West > Japan: central heating

 

[maushan3]

What I like most about the West is that people can freely express their opinions an be their own selves without being shunned by society, but then again, people might be more lonely in Japan since individuality is taught and people are taught to be more self-efficient and this is crucial nowadays.

Well, I too think Japan is a killer nation in automobiles and technology which is pretty good since people around the world owe most technology we use in an everyday basis to the Japanese.

Mauricio

 

[bakaKanadajin]

I'd agree that no one does public transportation like the Japanese, I mean you can set your watch by the trains most days and the professionalism displayed with regards to keeping the system relatively clean and presentable is second to none. When someone pukes on a train here in Toronto it sits there for the evening. When someone pukes on a train in Tokyo a gang of five men in blue suits and white hats magically appear; one with a bag of sawdust, two with brooms, one with a dustpan, and one supervisor. Oh sorry 6 guys.. one guy holding a flag. I used to call them the barf gnomes. All joking aside, they take pride in their trains.

It's easy to emphasize the downside of Japanese culture but there really aren't any problems there that we don't have here in the West. Garbage (dispoable chopsticks and too many shopping bags), child prostitution/abuse, lack of gender equality, etc., these are all problems that we have here in the West as well. Japan's ahead of most Western countries in terms of emission and C02 control as well I think. The only unique things I can think of that really tarnish the Japanese image specifically are whaling, an outdated and essentially useless practice, and a lack of government accountability. The Bush administration gets away with a lot but I know for a fact in Canada there is a higher level of transparency and accountability demanded by the people. I think this demand is even higher in Western European nations.

 

[basuotoko]

Japan -- higher level of friendliness and professionalism by staff at restaurants and stores.

The West -- better customer service overall. For example, better problem resolution and much better return policies.

 

[GaijinPunch]

West > :
Another point for pizza (and junk food in general)
TV
Investment opportunities

Japan >
Postal system
Banking system on the surface (furikomi from atm is great, non 24 hour atms sucks)
Minding their own business

The West -- better customer service overall.

I don't think this is generally right. Your ratio of finding someone who "simply doesn't care" in the west I find much higher. Maybe it's b/c I lived in Hawaii, where nobody cares.

 

[JimmySeal]

The furikomi system, in my very humble opinion, is a steaming pile of horse dung. I don't know what your bank charges, but mine takes 105-210 yen to send somebody money if they have the same bank as me, and 420-630 if they don't. In the US, sending somebody a personal check costs about 32c, and handing them one costs approximately $0.
Plus, most vendors in the US accept credit cards, which isn't so in Japan because they have their lovely furikomi.

 

[bakaKanadajin]

Ah yes, I forgot, the service industry in Japan absolutely rocks. Some foreigners complain about all the welcomes, thank yous, pleasantries, etc. But after living there for a year I honestly didn't find all that background noise annoying whatsoever. It made me just want to buy more stuff because a friendly, helpful staff member was at my very disposal from the moment I walked in the store to the moment I left. Restaurants are also great for service, far better than the West and they don't even tip in Japan!

 

[basuotoko]

West > :
I don't think this is generally right. Your ratio of finding someone who "simply doesn't care" in the west I find much higher. Maybe it's b/c I lived in Hawaii, where nobody cares.

I based my opinion on the apparent lack of return policies in Japan. On the few occasions I wanted to return merchandise here, I've found that the stores don't carry such policies. In the US, you'd be hard pressed to find a store that doesn't have some kind of policy for returns.

That as well as the problems many of my other foreign friends have had with settling problems over their cell phone bills and things like that. It just seems like Japan puts a good face forward, but what happens behind the scenes is not so satisfying. But, I'm sure this isn't the care everywhere in Japan... are there many stores that actually carry nice things like return policies? If so, please enlighten me.

 

[undrentide]

I based my opinion on the apparent lack of return policies in Japan. On the few occasions I wanted to return merchandise here, I've found that the stores don't carry such policies. In the US, you'd be hard pressed to find a store that doesn't have some kind of policy for returns.

That as well as the problems many of my other foreign friends have had with settling problems over their cell phone bills and things like that. It just seems like Japan puts a good face forward, but what happens behind the scenes is not so satisfying. But, I'm sure this isn't the care everywhere in Japan... are there many stores that actually carry nice things like return policies? If so, please enlighten me.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of return policy commonly found in the US, and when people return goods to the shops or manufacturers?
I have no experience in returning goods I bought abroad.
In Japan if you bought something that turned out to be wrong or defect, usually you can bring it back to the shop and get refund as far as you can show the receipt. When you just do not like the item you bought, and if the goods is not used/opened (depending on the item) and it is within a few days from the purchase, you can also return it.

Or it is not what you're talking about...?

 

[maushan3]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of return policy commonly found in the US, and when people return goods to the shops or manufacturers?
I have no experience in returning goods I bought abroad.

In most stores you can return the item within 30 days or purchase, or 14 depending on the store with the original receipt and they give you cash back, just as long as it has been unused.

In some stores, they might accept a return if you don't have a receipt, but no cash back, just something else from the store and with the tag on the clothing.

Mauricio

 

[Chidoriashi]

retail places like Walmart etc. usually have a 90 day any reason return policy. I must agree with maushan3 that the service doesnt meet up to my standards, hellos and thank yous are nice, but I want satisfaction. In my experience whenever there is a problem with something the customer has no power, and the store, restaurant will rarely do anything for you to make things better... just an empty apology...
Or even when you want to exchange something, like when my electronic dictionary was defective.. and I had to wait two weeks to get a new one from the store... not repaired.. new. In America, at least, with defective items like that you take a new one home the same day you bring the defective one in....
I know many people feel that because of the friendliness that the service is wonderful here, but in my experience when it comes to dealing with problems and customer satisfaction, Japan falls short.

 

[gaijinalways]

Yes, but even an opened package in Japan implies used, meaning no return or no exchange. This equals a very inflexible store policy in Japan.

Japan> better train system

Western > (difficult to evaluate as it depends on the country) in the US better handling of complaints in stores and restaurants (rather than just empty sorrys), better banking, easier to use credit cards (though this has improved in Japan), better legal system

 

[undrentide]

Thank you for explanation and examples on the return policy.
Come to think of it, I did not have many occasions where I need to return the goods I bought and have not experienced any refusal or slow reaction (maybe I'm just being lucky!) so I was not aware of the problems.