Japan is a land of many contrasts. On one hand, it has a reputation of being a hi-tech wonderland: the country of robots, coolest electronic gadgets, high-speed bullet trains, artificial shooting stars, a place where rice is grown with the help of AI and satellite data, a nation whose space probes are transmitting pictures from asteroids and even blasting them, and yes, the birthplace of the ultimate symbol of technological advance – “Washlet” toilets that confuse foreign tourists with their many buttons and functions.
On the other hand, Japan is a country that is still very much attached to the ways of the past: here you should always carry some cash with you because many stores do not accept cards, procedures that abroad can be completed online in a few mouse clicks in Japan require filling countless handwritten forms (or numerous exchanges by post mail), and a personal stamp (判子; hanko) which first appeared on the Japanese islands in 57 AD is still absolutely indispensable for signing documents at workplaces across the country today, hampering efforts to implement remote working. Some even say that ideally hanko should be pressed at a slightly slanted angle towards the stamp of one’s superior as a sign of respect:
However to me, nothing symbolizes this contrast between the modern, AI embracing Japan, and the country still clinging to the good old ways of the Bubble economy era of the ’80s and ’90s than the fax machine. Before coming to this country I thought that a fax machine is an object forgotten at least two decades ago – just like the floppy disc, unbreakable Nokia mobile phones, pagers, or Windows 95. Not in Japan.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic exposed many long-rooted problems with Japan’s bureaucracy, one of them – its stubborn reliance on fax machines. Recently several English media outlets reported that Japanese doctors are complaining about being legally required to handwrite reports about new coronavirus cases and send them to public health centers by fax. After a twitter storm government officials promised to “address the problem”, it was announced that a new online reporting system should be launched on May 10th.
The above-mentioned news story raised many eyebrows abroad, however for those of us living in Japan it was nothing surprising – fax machines are still very much in use here. According to recent surveys around one in three Japanese households and 95 percent of companies still possess fax machines. They are commonly used for placing and accepting orders, sending reports, booking reservations, making appointments, and taking care of other daily matters.
Why are the Japanese still so fond of this obsolete technology? The first thing that is often mentioned when trying to answer this question is “Galapagos syndrome” (ガラパゴス化; Garapagosu-ka) – a term created by the Japanese themselves to explain peculiarities of their market. It originates from Galápagos islands – a place famously mentioned in Charles Darwin’s “On the origin of species” where fauna and flora developed independently from the mainland. According to this explanation Japan, just like these Ecuadorian islands, has a unique ecosystem – new devices here develop in isolation from the rest of the world and people still tend to hold on some of the technologies they are fond of, even though these technologies are long forgotten abroad. (Fun trivia: Did you know that telegrams are still used in Japan for such occasions as funerals, weddings, and graduations?)
Another possible reason for the still blooming fax culture – fondness of handwriting. Japan has a complicated writing system which consists of a combination of two Japanese syllabaries (ひらがな; hiragana and カタカナ; katakana) and several thousands of Chinese “kanji” (漢字) characters. The unique writing system gave birth to a rich and interesting tradition of calligraphy. Many Japanese believe that a person’s handwriting can indicate his or her character, personal traits, intelligence, or even tell about the writer’s emotional state. This may be the reason why a handwritten fax message is considered more personal than an email.
(If you are applying, or considering applying for a job in Japan, here is a tip from my personal experience – submitting a handwritten CV in Japanese may score you a few additional points.)
Lastly – gerontocracy (a society which is governed by older people). Japan has a rapidly aging and shrinking population, nearly 60 percent of its citizens are older than 65. Strict hierarchical relationships between seniors and juniors are deeply rooted in Japanese culture which was strongly influenced by Confucianism. Even today career advance is decided by seniority, not by merits or work performance. Despite some recent changes brought by the emergence of new IT startups almost all governmental organizations and private companies are run by older people, who struggle to use computers and tend to stick to their old ways. (Have you heard about former Japan’s cybersecurity minister who self-admittedly has never used a computer in his life?) The people who were in their prime when Japan widely embraced fax technology in the ’80s see no point in all the trouble required for switching to email.
However, the surveys revealed that younger people in their 20s who are accustomed to smartphones and tablets do not rely on fax machines anymore. It is reasonable to expect that in several decades fax may become forgotten in Japan as well. Until then, don’t be surprised if in order to take care of some deals with a Japanese you will be asked to send the necessary information by fax.