Tier list of Japan

Maciamo · 11 Jan 2024

I thought that it might be interesting if each member made a tier list to rate the various aspects of Japan from best to worst. Please mention whether you have lived in Japan or only visited the country as a tourists for a few weeks. Personally I have lived 5 years in Tokyo and visited the country again 6 times for a total of about 4 more months in the last 18 years. I have been to abot two thirds of all Japanese prefectures and I speak Japanese reasonably fluently.

Great

Food
Autumn leaves
Gardens

Great but similar to home

Shinkansen
Cherry blossoms
Free water in restaurants
Clean streets

Good

Temples and shrines
Castles
Traditional neighbourhoods (although few and far between)
Shopping centres and department stores
Coin lockers in every station, even metro stations.
Vending machines and (generally clean) public toilets everywhere (often next to each others)

Passable/Needs improvement

Buses and taxis (for tall people)

Bad/annoying

Not enough recycling (paper, soft plastic)
Not enough green electricity
Overhead power lines in the streets
Concrete all over nature (along coasts, mountain slopes, river embankments). It might be necessary but they tend to overdo it.
4 months of muggy summer
Prejudices against foreigners
Ugly streets/buildings with no consideration for urban planning at all
Still lots of hovels with corrugated iron or plastic walls.
Too many things too small/low for tall people (doors, sinks, bathtubs, bus seats, etc.)

Horrible

Houses (lack of isolation, poor quality, small, not comfortable, not beautiful)
Overuse of plastic packaging everywhere (especially when combined with the lack of soft plastic recycling).
Smoking allowed in restaurants (especially izakaya)
Power of the police to detain anyone without proof of wrongdoing for 3 weeks in horrible conditions without being able to call anyone.

Don't care/not interested

Karaoke
Manga/anime
Onsen
Skiing
Traditional crafts
Fashion

Obviously each person's impression of Japan will depend on where they come from (comparison with home country), how much they have travelled around the world, and how widely they have travelled around Japan. For example many West Europeans may not be that impressed with the shinkansen as we also have similar high-speed trains. In my native Belgium the cleanliness of streets depends a lot of the city and neighbourhood, but where I live it's as clean as in Japan. We also have streets lined with hundreds of Japanese-style cherry trees in many residential neighbourhoods.

Maciamo · 11 Jan 2024

I forgot a few things.

Great

Customer service
Punctuality of trains
Amazingly good postal service

Good

Robots (Henna hotel, robot cafés)
Cute characters and kawaii culture

Bad/annoying

Cash culture (many places don't accept credit/debit cards, including ticket machines in train/metro stations)
Unnecessarily complex administrative procedures (e.g. at the bank, to pay bills).

I would like to explain a bit more about what I meant about the recycling in my first post. I was shocked to see during my recent trip around Japan that in most places paper is not recycled at all but goes into the burnable waste (燃えるゴミ) unlike (at least the Western half of) Europe. In some cities only newspapers and magazines are recycled. Tokyo seems to be one of the few places where most paper can be recycled (although it may depend on the wards). But the worst of all is the treatment of plastic. Outside Tokyo most municipalities appear to only recycle PET bottles and not other plastics, like wrappings. And Japanese people are overly fond of wrapping every single little thing in plastic bags! I had to get angry at a bakery because they insisted on packing each item in a different plastic bag when I asked if they could put everything in a single bag to limit plastic waste. In fact they shouldn't even use plastic bags but paper bags, like all bakeries in Europe. The only ones I have seen do that in Japan are branches of French bakeries in central Tokyo. Why do they also wrap individual apples and bananas, among other fruits, in separate plastic bags. Why wrap them at all? Unbelievable. Japan is a disaster for ecologically minded people.

I was also shocked to see that only about 20% of the electricity in Japan was low carbon (nuclear + renewables). About 40% of electricity comes from coal power plants (the worst kind for pollution and global warming) and the rest is mostly natural gas with a bit of petrol. So riding the train in Japan is not so eco-friendly compared to most developed countries. Here are some examples of the percentages of low-carbon electricity production in other countries as of 2022:

Norway: 99%
Sweden: 98%
Switzerland: 97%
Finland: 89%
France: 87%
New Zealand: 86%
Denmark: 84%
Canada: 82%
Slovakia: 82%
Austria: 77%
Lithuania: 75%
Latvia: 72%
Belgium: 72%
Hungary: 66%
Spain: 63%
Romania: 62%
Portugal: 60%
UK: 56%
Germany: 50%
Greece: 43%
USA: 40%
Russia: 38%
China: 35%

Japan does worse than Russia and China! And not by a little.

thomas · 11 Jan 2024

Fascinating post, Maciamo! I realised that being a long-term resident of Japan, I can no longer compare Japan to my country of birth because I am simply no longer up to date with what (in my case) life in Europe means. I watch the news and get information from family and friends, but my knowledge is based on hearsay. Hence, Japan is the benchmark.

Also, I believe that many things on your list have already changed: there are very few places that do not accept plastic; at 191cm, I haven't hit my head in over a decade; tall people can even find clothes and shoes these days without resorting to the internet or speciality shops; smoking has been restricted in most places. I would never frequent an eatery where smoking was allowed.

I agree with you about recycling, which seems to depend on the municipality; however, it is pretty efficient in the Kanto area (I do not know about other regions). Housing: New structures are pretty well-isolated and have to be fitted with solar panels in the Kanto region, but as we discussed in the other thread, they don't compare to European "brick and mortar" standards. Wrapping and packaging: still a veritable disaster!

More later.

mdchachi · 12 Jan 2024

Don't care/not interested in onsen?! That should be enough to lose the right to talk about the topic of Japan at all!

Maciamo · 12 Jan 2024

thomas said:
Also, I believe that many things on your list have already changed: there are very few places that do not accept plastic;

I beg to differ. I have just spent 5 weeks travelling around Japan and Tokyo, eating at restaurants two or three times per day and about one third of restaurants do not accept credit cards (perhaps only 10% in central Tokyo, but over half in small cities or towns). It's quite shocking coming from Europe, where I was able to travel to 10 countries in the last few years without ever using cash. In Belgium it is now illegal for any business (even doctors) to refuse electronic payments. I took the taxi 15 times in Japan in December and 5 of them (exactly one third) were 'cash only'. However it seems that all taxis in Tokyo now accept card payments.

The problem with Japan is that there is still a a lot of difference between Tokyo and the rest of the country when it comes to card payments, and the gap is particularly huge when going to the countryside. In Kitsuki (Oita) the local bus didn't even accept IC cards like Pasmo. Only cash! We checked several restaurants there and all of them were cash only. It was like a time warp. I was almost surprised to see that locals had smartphones as I thought I had travelled back in time to the 20th century.

Then of course hardly any Buddhist temple or traditional garden in Japan accept card payments to pay the admission fee, even though there are plenty of foreigners visiting them.

I have calculated how much money we spent during this trip, and hotels and trains excluded, almost half of all the money we spent was in cash, even though I pay by card whenever it's possible. That includes restaurants, cafés, sightseeing, taxis, metros and buses (Pasmo cards can only be recharged using cash!).

thomas said:
at 191cm, I haven't hit my head in over a decade;

The door frames in 4 of the Airbnb's where I stayed last month were only 180cm high, forcing me crouch every time I passed from one room to another. In the house where I stayed in Kyoto I even had to lower my head in the corridor between the bedrooms. When taking the bus in Japan (anywhere) I constantly have to watch my head for the metallic bars where handle straps are attached, and even the ceiling at the back of the bus. In two metro stations in Tokyo I almost hit my head to cameras attached to the ceiling in the staircase. And of course when visiting traditional houses, temples and castles I have to watch my head at every step.

thomas said:
Housing: New structures are pretty well-isolated

I have visited a few new houses and apartments, but I still haven't seen any that would be considered well isolated by European standards. I stayed in an Airbnb house that was built only one year ago and the isolation was pretty much inexistent. Even double glazing in Japan seem to offer almost no sound isolation. I haven't heard of any passive or low-energy houses in Japan. I even checked several major real estate websites and they have no category for new houses like that and don't show the energy rating (compulsory in the EU) or quality of isolation in the listings.

thomas · 12 Jan 2024

Maciamo said:
I have visited a few new houses and apartments, but I still haven't seen any that would be considered well isolated by European standards. I stayed in an Airbnb house that was built only one year ago and the isolation was pretty much inexistent. Even double glazing in Japan seem to offer almost no sound isolation. I haven't heard of any passive or low-energy houses in Japan. I even checked several major real estate websites and they have no category for new houses like that and don't show the energy rating (compulsory in the EU) or quality of isolation in the listings.

They should probably apply Hokkaido insulation standards to the rest of the country.

Maciamo · 12 Jan 2024

thomas said:
They should probably apply Hokkaido insulation standards to the rest of the country.

Yes. I have always wondered why they didn't.

Lothor · 12 Jan 2024

I like cash and have never seen it as an imposition to pay by cash. Rather, it is an imposition to force people to pay by an electronic means: not everybody has a credit card or electronic money. Holding cash also gives one greater control over assets: a bank card or electronic money can be made unusable by a power cut or, theoretically, a hacker or a totalitarian government. I really hope that cash doesn't disappear, and people who are advocating for electronic money to replace cash should be wary of what they wish for.

Maciamo · 14 Jan 2024

Lothor said:
I like cash and have never seen it as an imposition to pay by cash. Rather, it is an imposition to force people to pay by an electronic means: not everybody has a credit card or electronic money. Holding cash also gives one greater control over assets: a bank card or electronic money can be made unusable by a power cut or,

I have never experienced a power cut that made card transactions unusable. This is an extremely rare situation in a developed country and such a power cut would also render most businesses in Japan unusable anyway as most shops, shopping centres or department stores have (electric) automatic doors and would be plunged into darkness without light. Restaurants wouldn't be able to operate either. Who would shop or eat out in these conditions?

Lothor said:
theoretically, a hacker or a totalitarian government.

I tend not to visit totalitarian countries. Anyway you are talking about the safety of depositing money at a bank, not the use of debit/credit cards for payments as opposed to cash. I suppose that you do not keep all your money in cash in your home but that you have a bank account like everyone in Japan? In that case, cash is much less convenient than card payments as Japanese banks have very restrictive business hours (even for ATMs!) and charge commissions for cash withdrawals (unlike EU banks), except if you have a bank account in Japan and withdraw from an ATM belonging to your bank (which makes it even less convenient as it's harder to find).

Furthermore, when travelling around Japan, especially for several weeks like I did, you have to choose between carrying a lot of cash on you at all time, which makes your wallet very thick and cumbersome, or go regularly to the ATM, which is time consuming and usually costs money. You also have the risk of losing your wallet or being mugged (at least outside of Japan). Payments in cash are also more annoying and time consuming as you have to look for the exact change or end up with lots of heavy coins in your wallet.

Another reason why I dislike cash is that you can't easily track your expenses. With modern banking apps you can see exactly how much you spend per day, week, month, year... You can sort expenses automatically by category, add custom categories, set a daily, weekly or monthly budget. Cards have all kinds of securities that are not available for cash. In addition to the PIN code, you can add location based security (your card can't be used if your GPS location on your phone is not the same as where you pay), set a maximum spending amount per day, allow/deny ATM withdrawals or online payments, etc.

If you have a good bank there should be cyber insurance against hackers.

As for your fear of a totalitarian regime seizing all the funds on bank accounts, it has never happened and is never going to happen. If it did, the country's economy would instantly collapse and the currency would become worthless in the blink of an eye. If people have no money, nothing can be bought or sold. Even if some people keep cash, without banks businesses would be unable to operate. Supermarket shelves would be empty, triggering hyperinflation. Instead of paying something 1000 yen, the price would rise to millions then billions of yen, just like it happened in Germany after the 1929 financial crisis (without bank accounts being seized by a totalitarian regime). In other words all cash would become worthless. So I am really not convinced by your arguments.

johnnyG · 14 Jan 2024

Lothor said:
I like cash and have never seen it as an imposition to pay by cash. Rather, it is an imposition to force people to pay by an electronic means: not everybody has a credit card or electronic money. Holding cash also gives one greater control over assets: a bank card or electronic money can be made unusable by a power cut or, theoretically, a hacker or a totalitarian government. I really hope that cash doesn't disappear, and people who are advocating for electronic money to replace cash should be wary of what they wish for.

I, too, really like being able to use cash. The only time I use a card is my bimonthly amazon order, or something similar.

(I do have a bus card, but add to it when needed there on the bus, with cash.)

IronDove · 15 Jan 2024

Maciamo said:
As for your fear of a totalitarian regime seizing all the funds on bank accounts, it has never happened and is never going to happen.

there was a guy in the UK that got "de-banked". name was Nigel Farage. the bank didn't like his politics so they yoinked his bank account. but that happened in a democracy and not a totalitarian state and they didn't do it to EVERYONE (the bank also claimed it wasn't a targeted, politically motivated move) so I guess it doesn't really count. he probably got his money back and switched banks but still, don't keep your eggs in one basket, even in a democracy.

as for cash vs no cash, I like cash. its a tool that doesn't care who's hands its in or how you use it. digital currency has reared its ugly head by banks not allowing people to use their money in certain places (I think it was a bank not liking onlyfans or something similar) and people were pretty upset about that. there were those that were unfazed and even those that agreed with the bank blocking those payments but that's a slippery slope. many countries are considering a CDC or centralized digital currency that in theory, can be used to adapt rapidly to economic turmoil and stop a recession or incentivize people to spend/invest their money by adding a devaluation like how inflation works at set intervals or even stop a bank run dead in its tracks. of course, I doubt the powers that be will not abuse that new power. there was talk of restricting what goods and services people can buy for example: homeless people cant buy alcohol and so forth. now I know cash can be inconvenient, bulky, time consuming and you risk getting robbed but ehhhhhhhhhh digital currency can still be stolen. online scams are getting better and more people are falling for them. and I wont go down the rabbit hole of governments and institutions not liking how you behave, think or act. I'm no major fan of fiat currency per say or fractional banking and so on but IMO cash is king. I can spend it however, whenever and for whatever I want and no one can stop me and if you want my cash, you gotta risk getting hurt to get it.

mdchachi · 15 Jan 2024

Maciamo said:
In Belgium it is now illegal for any business (even doctors) to refuse electronic payments.

Are they allowed to add a credit card surcharge? The main reason businesses typically don't like to use electronic payments is because they have to pay fees on every transaction.

Maciamo said:
I have never experienced a power cut that made card transactions unusable. This is an extremely rare situation in a developed country and such a power cut would also render most businesses in Japan unusable anyway as most shops, shopping centres or department stores have (electric) automatic doors and would be plunged into darkness without light. Restaurants wouldn't be able to operate either. Who would shop or eat out in these conditions?

The scenario in my mind is when there's a disaster, people rush out to buy supplies. Though in the U.S. they're likely to loot the stores. Or some places will give their stuff away especially perishables. Not sure what they do in Japan. There must be data from the various natural disasters including this latest one.

But if you want reasons why cash is may be preferred, here are a few reasons compliments of Perplexity.
Electronic payments via debit or credit cards can be more risky than cash in some cases due to several reasons:

Fraud and Scams: Electronic payments can be susceptible to various types of fraud and scams. Unauthorized users can steal funds, or trick authorized users into transferring funds. Sophisticated scams are emerging with the global acceptance of real-time and faster payments.
Data Breaches: Processing credit card payments can create a potential risk for data breaches. If a company's security system is compromised, sensitive customer information, including credit card details, can be stolen and misused.
[I've lost count of the number of times my personal data has been compromised; this is kind of a lost cause.]
Identity Theft: There is less risk of identity theft with cash transactions. When using debit or credit cards, especially for online transactions, personal information can be stolen and used for fraudulent activities.
[Definitely a risk. Happens all the time and there are many nightmare stories although it's easy to think it won't happen to oneself.]
Unauthorized Charges: If a debit card is lost or stolen and used fraudulently, protections are in place, but only if you notify your banking institution. This opens up the possibility that the thief will gain access to the funds in your account.
Chargebacks: Chargebacks, where a customer disputes a transaction, can be a significant issue for businesses accepting card payments. This can lead to financial loss for the business.
[At least in the U.S. this is a problem; the credit card companies shift all the risk to the business.]
Lack of Privacy: Cash transactions respect our fundamental right to have our privacy, data, and identity protected in financial matters. Digital payments, on the other hand, leave a digital footprint and can be monitored, which some users may find intrusive.

It's important to note that while these risks exist, many security measures are in place to protect electronic transactions, such as encryption, personal identification numbers (PINs), and chips. Regularly checking bank statements, reporting any suspected fraudulent activity to the bank, and changing your PIN and password every few months can also help protect your transactions.

That being said, I love the Suica/Pasmo. Very convenient for transportation and convenience store/vending machine purchases. For larger purchases I like to use credit card. I'm incentivized to use the card because I get some kickback (rebate, miles or points) from the fees they charge the merchants.

mdchachi · 15 Jan 2024

Since you went through all the effort to start this post I thought I'd reply in the way you had hoped people would engage. (So you don't feel too picked on about the things we don't agree with. ). As for my experience I lived in Tokyo for almost 6 years total returning to U.S. in 2000. I traveled within Japan more than the average Japanese person has. Since then traveled there for personal or business almost every year except for the pandemic years.
I'll just use your list, coloring the differences. I bolded the new ones.

Great

Food
Gardens
Shinkansen <= as an American even the Kodama/Hikari Shinkansens are super impressive.
Temples and shrines <= this is a big part of what makes Japan different and "exotic."
Castles <= nothing like this in the U.S. The oldest history we have besides native American relics is only about 300 years old.
Public Transportation <= the ability to go just about anywhere without your own vehicle is a novelty for most Americans
Customer service
- Tipping Culture
Punctuality of trains
Amazingly good postal service
Onsen/bath culture <= a primary draw for me. The main criteria I have in a Japanese hotel is a 大浴場. Even better if it has 露天風呂. There's nothing like sitting outside in the furo with snow coming down.
Skiing <= I don't have mountains close to me in the U.S. so Japan skiing was great. We took several ski trips. Some of my best memories.
Festival Culture <= all the various festivals from cherry blossoms to wisteria to penises. So many opportunities to enjoy different aspects of Japanese culture.
Road Quality <= A good aspect of your over-concretization comment, the roads are extremely well-maintained especially as compared to where I live
Hanabi <= I think you missed a big one. Japanese fireworks are stupendous. So many festivals and opportunities to see great displays.

Great but similar to home

Autumn leaves
Free water in restaurants
Clean streets

Good

Cherry blossoms <= Not much where I live so I'm tempted to say Great but I'll stay with Good. I added Festival Culture above.
Traditional neighbourhoods (although few and far between)
Shopping centres and department stores
Coin lockers in every station, even metro stations.
Vending machines and (generally clean) public toilets everywhere (often next to each others)
Robots (Henna hotel, robot cafés)
Cute characters and kawaii culture

Passable/Needs improvement

Buses and taxis (for tall people) <= I'll take your word for it.

Bad/annoying

Not enough recycling (paper, soft plastic) <= I'd put this in the don't care; I'd rather America got their act together, I'm not going to worry about Japan
Not enough green electricity <= don't really care
Overhead power lines in the streets <= don't really care
Concrete all over nature (along coasts, mountain slopes, river embankments). It might be necessary but they tend to overdo it.
4 months of muggy summer
Prejudices against foreigners <= it's hard for me to judge this as compared to other places
Ugly streets/buildings with no consideration for urban planning at all
Still lots of hovels with corrugated iron or plastic walls.
Too many things too small/low for tall people (doors, sinks, bathtubs, bus seats, etc.) <= don't care since it doesn't affect me
Cash culture (many places don't accept credit/debit cards, including ticket machines in train/metro stations)
Unnecessarily complex administrative procedures (e.g. at the bank, to pay bills).

Horrible

Houses (lack of isolation, poor quality, small, not comfortable, not beautiful) <= not sure I fully agree. They seem to have very clever and efficient use of space.
Overuse of plastic packaging everywhere (especially when combined with the lack of soft plastic recycling). <= I don't notice so much, probably because of the overconsumption and under-recycling in America; I'd probably say Bad rather than Horrible
Smoking allowed in restaurants (especially izakaya) <= I suppose so but it's much better than 30 years ago.
Power of the police to detain anyone without proof of wrongdoing for 3 weeks in horrible conditions without being able to call anyone.
Patriarchy - still glass ceiling, double standards and lack of opportunity and representation for women; sexist culture still pervasive

Don't care/not interested

Karaoke <= fun activity to do with friends but I can take it or leave it
Manga/anime
Traditional crafts
Fashion
Bidet/Toilets <= many people love them so much they buy them at home but it's not something I ever got into
Pachinko

Maciamo · 15 Jan 2024

Thanks for your reply, mdchachi.

It's true that I forgot a few things. Just to be clear, the "Don't care/not interested" category only means that I don't take these things in consideration when visiting Japan. I do play video games (although much less than 10 or 20 years ago) and occasionally watch anime, but these are things I can do in Europe and that I don't do when visiting Japan.

Temples, shrines and castles were more impressive when I first came to Japan 20 years ago, but I have seen so many of them that it's not what it used to be.

Good

Hanabi (there may be more of them in Japan, but I have known fireworks since my childhood, so it's not that special)
Festival culture (Japan has some unique festivals but so does Europe. Besides Japanese ones tend to be overcrowded, which makes the experience less fun)

Bad/annoying

Many Japanese apps are blocked on non-Japanese phones, even with a Japanese SIM card. That includes the Pasmo app. I went to a combini to print something but the app to connect to one's phone is also restricted. My (Japanese) wife set up her Google account in Japan (in Japanese of course) but she can't access most Japanese apps using her phone purchased abroad. That includes Cookbook, the most popular cooking app (although she can use the web version). Sometimes Japan feels as closed to the rest of the world as Iran or North Korea — with the difference that in Japan's case it's self-imposed!

Don't care/not interested

Bidet toilets (mostly a useless gadgets IMO)
Pachinko (do any non-Japanese really like it?)

I understand that from an American point of view the lack of tipping culture in Japan is great. But the US is really unique worldwide for its tipping culture. There is no need to tip in most of Europe. In many countries it's exactly like Japan.

Maciamo · 15 Jan 2024

mdchachi said:
Are they allowed to add a credit card surcharge? The main reason businesses typically don't like to use electronic payments is because they have to pay fees on every transaction.

Nowadays you can pay in many places using a QR code from your bank's app. You just scan the vendor's QR code, approve the amount with one click and the money is transferred instantly from your bank account to theirs, free of charge for both parties, and without any card needed. This system doesn't exist in Japan.

As for card fees, it depends if it's debit card (the one everyone gets for free with their bank account, typically Maestro or Visa Debit), in which case the fee is very low for the vendor (0.1% I think) or a credit card (higher vendor fee).

Maciamo · 15 Jan 2024

IronDove said:
there was a guy in the UK that got "de-banked". name was Nigel Farage. the bank didn't like his politics so they yoinked his bank account. but that happened in a democracy and not a totalitarian state and they didn't do it to EVERYONE (the bank also claimed it wasn't a targeted, politically motivated move) so I guess it doesn't really count. he probably got his money back and switched banks but still, don't keep your eggs in one basket, even in a democracy.

That doesn't count as this is just one customer being asked to move his money from one bank to another. That's not even remotely similar to a totalitarian regime seizing all the bank's assets.

IronDove said:
as for cash vs no cash, I like cash. its a tool that doesn't care who's hands its in or how you use it.

I thought that COVID had taught most people that paper money is a vector for germs. It's very dirty.

IronDove said:
digital currency has reared its ugly head by banks not allowing people to use their money in certain places (I think it was a bank not liking onlyfans or something similar) and people were pretty upset about that.

I have never experienced that and have never even heard of it before.

IronDove said:
there was talk of restricting what goods and services people can buy for example: homeless people cant buy alcohol and so forth.

"There was talk of..." => that's not really an argument.

In the case of homeless people not being able to buy alcohol, that is unrelated to the payment method (cash or card) and it's a matter of legislation in each country, state or city. What does that have to do with anything?

IronDove said:
now I know cash can be inconvenient, bulky, time consuming and you risk getting robbed but ehhhhhhhhhh digital currency can still be stolen.

So can cash, and far more easily than money on your bank account (what you call digital currency).

IronDove said:
IMO cash is king. I can spend it however, whenever and for whatever I want

That's not even true. You can't use cash for online shopping (e.g. Amazon), to book hotels, Airbnb, plane tickets, car rentals, etc. online, or most other aspects of modern life. It would be virtually impossible to travel abroad without a credit and/or debit card. You can't rent a car anywhere without a card for the deposit. You can't pay your Netflix, Prime Video or other streaming or other app subscriptions by cash. Cash is extremely restrictive.

Hiroyuki Nagashima · 15 Jan 2024

The reason why cash is so widely used in Japan is that Japanese banknotes have the highest reliability.

There is not the counterfeit bill of the Japanese currency, and there is not the demerit of having cash because there are few robbery and theft and is safe.
(I almost come back even if I lose a wallet.)

Therefore there is not a merit even if the small stores pay a fee of credit and the computerized account settlement.

By the payment method of the Japanese mail order system, there are many people choosing cash on delivery and convenience store payment, a method to settle in cash including the use of ATM.

I am doing mail-order system development, but a story of the correspondence of the unauthorized access of the credit from the neighboring country goes up at a meeting.

Credit and the computerized account settlement have more demerits including a fee and the interest.

johnnyG · 15 Jan 2024

Lots of great cycling here. Good roads, even in the hills.

Maciamo · 16 Jan 2024

Hiroyuki Nagashima said:
The reason why cash is so widely used in Japan is that Japanese banknotes have the highest reliability.

There is not the counterfeit bill of the Japanese currency,

It never once crossed my mind that there could be counterfeit banknotes. I have never had this problem in any country (but then I try to avoid cash, so I don't have to worry about counterfeit banknotes anyway).

Hiroyuki Nagashima said:
Credit and the computerized account settlement have more demerits including a fee and the interest.

Maybe from the vendor's point of view, but not from the customer's as credit cards typically have points, mileages and/or cashback, as well as purchase insurance (2 years extra warranty on all purchases with my card, which is very useful, especially for electronics). Personally I avoid shops that don't accept card payments, and I know that a lot of North Europeans are like me, so businesses who choose not to accept cards to save a few yen on fees end up losing many customers.

Lothor · 16 Jan 2024

Maciamo said:
I have never experienced a power cut that made card transactions unusable. This is an extremely rare situation in a developed country and such a power cut would also render most businesses in Japan unusable anyway as most shops, shopping centres or department stores have (electric) automatic doors and would be plunged into darkness without light. Restaurants wouldn't be able to operate either. Who would shop or eat out in these conditions?

I tend not to visit totalitarian countries. Anyway you are talking about the safety of depositing money at a bank, not the use of debit/credit cards for payments as opposed to cash. I suppose that you do not keep all your money in cash in your home but that you have a bank account like everyone in Japan? In that case, cash is much less convenient than card payments as Japanese banks have very restrictive business hours (even for ATMs!) and charge commissions for cash withdrawals (unlike EU banks), except if you have a bank account in Japan and withdraw from an ATM belonging to your bank (which makes it even less convenient as it's harder to find).

Furthermore, when travelling around Japan, especially for several weeks like I did, you have to choose between carrying a lot of cash on you at all time, which makes your wallet very thick and cumbersome, or go regularly to the ATM, which is time consuming and usually costs money. You also have the risk of losing your wallet or being mugged (at least outside of Japan). Payments in cash are also more annoying and time consuming as you have to look for the exact change or end up with lots of heavy coins in your wallet.

Another reason why I dislike cash is that you can't easily track your expenses. With modern banking apps you can see exactly how much you spend per day, week, month, year... You can sort expenses automatically by category, add custom categories, set a daily, weekly or monthly budget. Cards have all kinds of securities that are not available for cash. In addition to the PIN code, you can add location based security (your card can't be used if your GPS location on your phone is not the same as where you pay), set a maximum spending amount per day, allow/deny ATM withdrawals or online payments, etc.

If you have a good bank there should be cyber insurance against hackers.

As for your fear of a totalitarian regime seizing all the funds on bank accounts, it has never happened and is never going to happen. If it did, the country's economy would instantly collapse and the currency would become worthless in the blink of an eye. If people have no money, nothing can be bought or sold. Even if some people keep cash, without banks businesses would be unable to operate. Supermarket shelves would be empty, triggering hyperinflation. Instead of paying something 1000 yen, the price would rise to millions then billions of yen, just like it happened in Germany after the 1929 financial crisis (without bank accounts being seized by a totalitarian regime). In other words all cash would become worthless. So I am really not convinced by your arguments.

I was simply arguing against the forced use of electronic payments. I like cash and you don't - that's fine. I was not advocating for a cash-based economy (I like bank accounts and online transactions too) but for one in which people who like cash can use it. I'm also aware of the disadvantages of cash.

On a related note, I work for a lot of different organisations (and none of them pay me in cash ). The one I have by far the most problems with in terms of doing my job (not their payment for my work) is one that has a fetish for technology, where each assignment involves me dealing with their iffy website, a Slack based job notification system and (recently) AI that doesn't work very well. On top of that, the company has optimised everything to the nth degree by standardising work flows, causing problems when someone with unusual requirements comes along. For all of my other customers, I get sent a Word file to edit by email, I edit it, and I send it back to them, and there are almost no problems.

What I'm saying is that the more complexity is built into a system, the more opportunity there is for things to go wrong. Cash is the simplest system of all, just depending on a physical object that can be transferred by hand. This advantage alone makes it worth keeping. There is a trade-off between robustness and efficiency in many systems, and I think that society has gone too far in favour of efficiency.

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