Well, Tsutaya is slowly moving away from DVD/Blu-ray. It's a shame as I used to enjoy walking the isles and looking for something interesting to watch. They seem to be changing into more of a bookshop now, though you can still buy PS3/PS4/PS5 games and that sort of thing.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Tim Cook and Japanese PM Kishida Discussed User Privacy, Digital 'My Number' IDs, and More
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
50/50? I can’t imagine it is anywhere close 50/50 after all the government incentives in 2022 for stores adopt digital payment. (And by that I mean 50% acceptance seems way too low.)
They (national government, prefectural governments, and city/town/village governments) have been pushing VERY hard this year (last year as well, but definitely this year) for stores to accept digital wallets and such as payments. I don’t have the government data to definitely say how high digital payment acceptance is now, but I know that I almost never use cash anymore. For me it is 98% actual plastic credit card, various credit cards saved to my Apple Wallet, and the PayPay app. (And I basically only use my actual plastic credit card at my local Gyomu Supa because they don’t have an NFC terminal or accept PayPay yet.) Almost everywhere I use my iPhone/Apple Watch in some way to pay — whether that is using the payment methods stored in my Apple Wallet or another payment app on my phone.)
I have a thousand yen bill in my wallet and that same thousand yen bill has been unmoved there for about two or three months. Stores don’t even need to buy a new payment terminal to accept something like PayPay. They just need print out a QR code that customers can scan with the app (which is what my favorite Indian restaurant does so that I can pay for my curry lunch set using PayPay).
For anyone in Japan who doesn’t yet have PayPay… get PayPay. It’s so incredibly convenient. For anyone in America, PayPay is kind of like the Cash App… except even better (IMO). And if your local government hasn’t done so already, they (in conjunction with PayPay) might soon have a bonus point discount for using PayPay. My local city government did a 20% bonus point promotion in October and November for using PayPay at stores in the city. And another local town government a few kilometers away is currently doing a 10% bonus point discount for using PayPay at stores in that town.
The various governments of Japan have gotten very serious about digital payment adoption in 2022.
Last edited:
May I ask how you are telling the cashier that you want to use Apple Pay? If you are specifically saying the words “Apple Pay”, that right there could be the problem. If you are having problems, don’t say you are paying with “Apple Pay“ (not those actual words). If your Japanese-issued credit card uses (for example) the iD Card payment network, say you want to pay using “iD Card” and then use your iPhone/Apple Watch at the NFC terminal.
Though if you are using a foreign-issued credit card stored in your Apple Wallet, that could be the problem as well (foreign-issued cards using Apple Pay in Japan can be tricky). If it is a foreign-issued card that supports EMV, then you could maybe just say you want to pay using “Touch”.
(Note for anyone reading this: The “iD Card” I just mentioned isn’t the same as the “ID cards” we have been talking about thus far, lol.)
Last edited:
With a nick like ponzicoinbro I’m surprised you haven’t sarcastically suggested blockchain as a solution
No way 😝, the in and out points of public blockchains are inherently insecure. Only a government database works for this kind of citizen data and they don't need to be immutable because citizen data changes (age, marital status, etc).
No elderly person is using 1970s floppy disks at all at home in 2022 (7 more hours to 2023!!!!). That’s not a thing people are doing here, lol. Come on now! What are you even talking about? lol
Maybe an elderly person isn’t using a computer at all. That’s certainly possible. But if they are using a computer, they aren’t using hardware from the 1970s just because they came of age in the 1970s.
The only people here using at home computer hardware that ancient are like… hipster gamers who want to play on the original computer hardware without running emulation or something, lol. And I get that. I have an old Apple Macintosh Classic II (from 1990-something) in storage somewhere that I occasionally get out for nostalgic gaming purposes, lol. Though I haven’t booted it up in many years though. 😂
Last edited:
Another case of someone on the internet who twists original posts to win an iNtErnEt ArGUMent 🙃
Me : some elderly generation are using floppy disks and fax machines at work.
You : No average Japanese is doing that.
Me : I said aged not average.
You : No elderly Japanese is doing that at home.
Me : I didn’t say home and my original post clearly referred to workplaces. It’s not news that Japan has been trying to encourage the end of these floppy disks and fax machines. It was a big news item in 2022.
I see what the problem we are having is now. I think you misunderstood the Engadget article that you originally linked to. The article wasn’t about elderly people at work using floppy disks and fax machines. The article was about outdated government procedures that required the use of floppy disks and fax machines (a problem not unique to Japan — Google “COBOL Cowboys” to find a very interesting story about America and old government tech).
The use of floppy disks and fax machines at government workplaces isn’t because the workers are elderly. It’s because of a slow-moving bureaucracy and such. That was what the article was about. The article was not about elderly Japanese people. Right?
This is the article you posted earlier:
Japan’s Digital Minister is going to war against floppy disks and fax machines
Taro Kono wants to end the government’s stubborn reliance on outdated tech.
www.engadget.com
Alright. Please have a good morning/afternoon/evening. Happy New Year to you.
I see what the problem we are having is now. I think you misunderstood the Engadget article that you originally linked to. The article wasn’t about elderly people at work using floppy disks and fax machines. The article was about outdated government procedures that required the use of floppy disks and fax machines (a problem not unique to Japan — Google “COBOL Cowboys” to find a very interesting story about America and old government tech).
The use of floppy disks and fax machines at government workplaces isn’t because the workers are elderly. It’s because of a slow moving bureaucracy and such. That was what the article was about. The article was not about elderly Japanese people. Right?
This is the article you posted earlier:
Japan’s Digital Minister is going to war against floppy disks and fax machines
Taro Kono wants to end the government’s stubborn reliance on outdated tech.
Alright. Please have a good morning/afternoon/evening. Happy New Year to you.
The bureaucracy is aged that's the problem
But frankly I think it's interesting that some of them still want to use fax machines. I've read their reasons and they are not irrational. It overlaps with global interest in vintage computing, retro gaming, vinyl records and all that. Some people just prefer to use some technology that isn't connected to the web.
Happy New Year to you too!
🇯🇵The problem with Japanese bureaucracy is two fold. First of course the natural slow transition of anything tech in a large institution, especially government where there are a ton of security concerns and legacy data/media. Second, the natural "old mindset" of the bureaucracats themselves since they will pander more towards the majority of the population, and unfortunately majority of the population in Japan is getting higher in the age bracket. As such they naturally cannot have a more nimble approach of many issues since most are focussing towards maintaining the familiarity with the aging majority.
If one had worked at or dealt with someone from a traditional Japanese company (not a startup), one would feel the rigid and inflexibility of the whole social and professional construct. There's a reason why many things, including business and culture where Japan used to have a huge influence in the past, now they are being overtaken by the S.Korean and Chinese.
Back to the topic, the fact that they actually initiated conversation with a tech company who at least have a privacy mindset like Apple imo is a good thing. Of course we wouldn't know the real agenda.
If one had worked at or dealt with someone from a traditional Japanese company (not a startup), one would feel the rigid and inflexibility of the whole social and professional construct. There's a reason why many things, including business and culture where Japan used to have a huge influence in the past, now they are being overtaken by the S.Korean and Chinese.
Back to the topic, the fact that they actually initiated conversation with a tech company who at least have a privacy mindset like Apple imo is a good thing. Of course we wouldn't know the real agenda.
Fall 2024 becomes a mandate...
Sorry, it is in Japanese. Best to get someone who is fluent in Japanese to translate. Google etc. still not good for Japanese (though is good for basic things).
2024年12月に健康保険証がマイナンバーカードに一本化へ 「マイナ保険証」で何が変わるのか？
デジタル庁が現行の紙の保険証を廃止し、2024年12月にマイナンバーカード保険証(マイナ保険証)に完……
Not technically a mandate now, but will start in fall 2024.
I noticed it too..it is a shame as Amazon and Netflix is on the move, but still has a way to go. I am another who likes to walk the isles in search of something to watch instead of having to wait for streaming download etc. Easy to just pop a disk into a player and hit play.
but..actually things are available still, not on the isles. There is a computer that if you punch in what you are looking for (have to know the title in Japanese - they always change the name as is their movie tradition) it might be in the back, or they will order it for you and it will arrive in a few days.
They reduced the isles for spacing, but many videos are still able to still rent. for 99 to 350 yen a movie, can't beat it.
Remind me how many (mostly unskilled) people are working in these factories right now...
just a side note from the topic thread:I noticed it too..it is a shame as Amazon and Netflix is on the move, but still has a way to go. I am another who likes to walk the isles in search of something to watch instead of having to wait for streaming download etc. Easy to just pop a disk into a player and hit play.
but..actually things are available still, not on the isles. There is a computer that if you punch in what you are looking for (have to know the title in Japanese - they always change the name as is their movie tradition) it might be in the back, or they will order it for you and it will arrive in a few days.
They reduced the isles for spacing, but many videos are still able to still rent. for 99 to 350 yen a movie, can't beat it.
Last week I paid 1.25 yen to rent John Carter and can rent it for a week. The benefits of still going to a DVD/Blu-ray shop, so I hope Tsutaya hangs on.
Actually to my surprise (after hearing negative reviews about the movie) it was a good movie. Found out that internal politics and other executives at Disney had 'other reasons' for purposely not promoting it, etc. Too bad. It was planned for a trilogy, but went to the axe even before offical release. Even Tom Cruise for many years wanted to play John Carter, but when it finally came out, he was too old (and probably cost too much anyway) for the part. The actor who played John Carter (forgot his name) was the perfect John Carter (as I would have imagined) when I read the books as a kid.
Anyway, some still like physical media, especially outside the U.S.
wow
people here will argue over anything just for the sense of arguing.
anyways, I always liked Japan and I was following the visit on twitter
and hopefully more companies here open up to Japan again like last last century.
people here will argue over anything just for the sense of arguing.
anyways, I always liked Japan and I was following the visit on twitter
and hopefully more companies here open up to Japan again like last last century.
A lot of Americans get it wrong.
"My Number" itself is assigned to all Japanese citizens.
The Japanese government distributes "Cards" to the public, but they are not sufficiently popular. That's it.
In Japan, iPhone has the largest market share, so I want to install "Card" in Apple.
"My Number" itself is assigned to all Japanese citizens.
The Japanese government distributes "Cards" to the public, but they are not sufficiently popular. That's it.
In Japan, iPhone has the largest market share, so I want to install "Card" in Apple.
As time goes by, I doubt Apple’s privacy standards more and more. It seems no matter what I do with my settings for tracking, Siri, etc conversations I have about random things continue to pop up in advertisements and Maps suggestions. At this point, pick your poison for ecosystems.
I'm sorry that the reality of the situation upsets you. If your theory about robotics were true Foxconn wouldn't need 200,000 workers at its Zhengzhou plant to make iPhones.
Hmm is Japan as ID theft prone as the US? I mean there are plenty of countries where you get a SSN-like ID but making it public generally helps with nothing, since everyone verifies identities. Can you steal someone's money in Japan with just this "My Number" ?
Because of the weak Yen, many companies move back to Japan. The problem is not that is too expensive, but the lack of workforce.
Unlikely. Japan makes a lot of low quality crap right now.
They lose to Taiwan in logic fab, lose to Koreans in memory, NAND and display fab, lose to Americans in EVs.
Japan "quality" is a myth for the most part. Their products survive solely through that "quality" myth, but if you look at their history, they're responsible for some of the worst automotive quality issues in history like the Takata exploding airbag disaster that's still killing people today after almost a decade.
Hell, even their entertainment industry has been mostly a failure the past few decades even after their government spent billions and astroturfed social media sites with their "Cool Japan" propaganda.
Watch their auto industry go down in flames by end of this decade as Tesla steamrolls them into bankruptcy.
Last edited:
Too expensive. For example Japanese guitar brands make their regular guitars in China or Vietnam and their premium guitars in Japan. But they cost double the price. So I don't think we will ever see iPhones made in Japan. Maybe the Pros if any at all, but why should Apple let the higher manufacturing cost eat up the margins? Just to diversify? Don't think so.
That crack would likely happen on the server side as opposed to the handset side (depending on operating system, update status, and how much side-loading the user had done.)