Yes, this. I'm one of the users in Japan that Apple seems to be disregarding. I'm by no means fluent- I can read kana, but I'm a beginner at Kanji, making the Japanese alternatives not very useful. Google was bilingual-Maps is not. I know I should be learning kanji, and I'm trying. However, I don't think that I deserve to be lost in the meantime. Maybe if I'd never have had the functionality it wouldn't have been a big deal, but it hurts now that I know what's missing. Besides, I'm sure there were countless tourists who used the GM before...
I know that Apple maps will one day be a major upgrade for most of the world, but right now it's a major downgrade. To those in the UK and in Europe, I feel your pain-but at least with the maps being in the Roman alphabet, you'll probably get it working much sooner than later. Here for Japan...Apple's going to have to partner with a local outfit to make headway with the language and address system, and I'm not sure that's something Apple would do-although I hope I'm wrong. Hubby and I are definitely well invested in the Apple ecosystem and I don't want to leave. But, if Apple wants to pretend that Japan is like the U.S., I may have no choice. But let me make it clear- I want to stay!
Can tell that Apple is regarding Japan as one of its main business locations from the way they talk about it during keynotes, I think they see potential there. Hopefully, they make changes there at a faster pace. Last time I compared Google and Apple maps, Google's one had Osaka divided into different provinces while Apple Maps did not, which I think is vital for a mapping solution. But from the looks of it, the satellite imagery is at least decent. My country's satellite image su*ks like hell...
Btw, if you want to use google maps on iOS 6, you can use the Maps+ app from the App store, it's quite nice.