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How is Japan responding to the technological age?

Putrefaction

不幸中の幸い. . . がない.
7 Nov 2008
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It seems that technology is fast replacing all the traditional methods of communication, shopping, what have you -- it's integrating with our lives at a train's speed. I myself have gone almost entirely paperless, I've started taking notes on the computer and am considering buying a Tablet PC so I can draw structures and stuff. Where I used to write all my sentences on paper, I just do it on the computer.

At my work place everything is computerized except for leaflets and receipts.

For studying, however, especially Kanji memorization, I think the Tablet will be a great addition as I am used to muscle memory, to say, to memorize the Kanji. I've already started studying via eBooks and PDFs. They make typos and correcting via grading much easier.

Seeing as Japan appears to be technologically advanced compared to the United States, how is paper faring? I would hope that it's taking my vein and slowly becoming all computerized.
 
Hm, that's a very interesting start. I wonder if they at least recycle the paper? They say they're trying to co-exist with forests, so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want the destruction of trees.
 
Paper is a very important part of record keeping especially with the government and compaines involved. To a certain extent paperless is is used, but only on things that are not important. Records are required by law to be keep for 5 years and the only safe way to do this is through paper. As for recycling paper, it is done quite a bit here.
 
Seven Eleven Japan may be the only major retailer to have switched from a paper-based to an all electronic accounting system. That was a few years ago. Wonder how the projected savings in billions of yen are working for them ?


And then there was the pension fiasco.....Only last spring, the government was forced to confess having lost track of 'mishandled' (now 'floating') social security records for almost half the population. Deep chaos of numbers getting wrongly entered without a check system with feedback for correcting any errors on top of several incompatible systems to combine lessens my faith at this point in the cherished bureacracy ability to smoothy handle paperless operations. :eek:
 
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Paper is a very important part of record keeping especially with the government and compaines involved. To a certain extent paperless is is used, but only on things that are not important. Records are required by law to be keep for 5 years and the only safe way to do this is through paper. As for recycling paper, it is done quite a bit here.

Hm, I have come across the 5-year at work as well, I suppose if it's recycled then there is no qualms about it at all! I can understand hard copy paper being preferred over electronic especially when it comes to monetary matters (I myself print out hard copies of my checks and file them).

I do think that going paperless did save billions of dollars, it definitely will save time and money in the medical profession - we get doctor call ins instead of patient drop offs, which save us a lot of time since the information is typed up, and harder to misinterpret, which we can fill quickly by the time the patient comes in!
 
Hm, I have come across the 5-year at work as well, I suppose if it's recycled then there is no qualms about it at all! I can understand hard copy paper being preferred over electronic especially when it comes to monetary matters (I myself print out hard copies of my checks and file them).

I do think that going paperless did save billions of dollars, it definitely will save time and money in the medical profession - we get doctor call ins instead of patient drop offs, which save us a lot of time since the information is typed up, and harder to misinterpret, which we can fill quickly by the time the patient comes in!

At my working place, almost all the papers are recycled, and we get recycled papers for printers/fax machines as office supply.

One of the biggest obstables to introduce the paper-less system is it is necessary to introduce new systems to allow it.
I think it is not a so big problem for small establishments, but for a big company where there are hundreds of sections and thousands people are working (like where I'm working - we are handling so many different business and using many different system), it cost quite a lot.
 
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I think it is not a so big problem for small establishments, but for a big company where there are hundreds of sections and thousands people are working (like where I'm working - we are handling so many different business and using many different system), it cost quite a lot.
Just for facts sake, my company uses close about 50,000 yen every month in paper supplies every month.
 
Just for facts sake, my company uses close about 50,000 yen every month in paper supplies every month.

Sorry I was not very clear... the system I meant in my previous is not the paper recycling system but the system installed in the computer system. 😌 we are using multiple computer system for years (many of them are integrated, that makes situation even more complicated). To switch them to a new system(s) so that instead of issuing so many papers as evidence we can work with less paper - if not paper-less - the cost would be billions Yen.
 
How is Japan responding to the technological age? I was under the impression they were leading it.
 
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