Japan was the future but it's stuck in the past (2023)

My colleague in Tokyo has 10Gb internet in his apartment.

The future is already here – it's just not very evenly distributed

It's interesting to consider that these "Japan is backwards" takes might persist in part simply because it hasn't melded with the global first world culture. I can go to various countries and very similar experiences at an electronics store, a hotel and a gas station. In Japan all of those (and many others) are distinctively Japanese.

I've read travelogues from the 17th-19th centuries, and in a lot of them, all of the countries are described like Japan. "Look at these weirdos, they insist on ______!" A tourist going from France to Italy would be constantly amazed, offended and puzzled. No longer.

It's a weird thought for me to have. I'm not a conservative; I view xenophobia, fear of change, and cultural/economic death grips by an older generation as negatives. But it feels like most of the world that doesn't have those things is increasingly homogeneous, in a way that's also uncomfortable to see.

I’ve lived in many parts of the U.S.—from major cities to the rural countryside. I’ve also lived outside the U.S. And without fail, every time I visit other developed countries, I become so confused about how our economy is apparently one of the strongest, and yet the U.S. just feels behind a lot of other places.

A friend was telling me the first time they moved to the U.S. to work in Silicon Valley, they were expecting some sort of high tech glassy utopia. “It’s just suburbs” they said with a frown, “and San Francisco was a grimy disappointment as well.”

Most of the U.S. doesn’t even look as nice as the Bay Area. It’s mostly the same suburbs minus the wealth, nature, and sunshine. The buildings and infrastructure and in many cities are decades old by now. What exactly does it mean to have the highest GDP if it doesn’t reflect in your daily life and surroundings?

I read that people in Japan tend to travel some of the least in the world outside their own country despite their amazing passports, and most will say it’s because they’ve got everything they need right there. Perhaps relentless economic growth shouldn’t be the goal—rather, building something nice for the society you live in and keeping that way should be.

For mobile coverage and speed, I've found Japan (I've been from Ishigaki to Shiretoko in the past few years) to be pretty world class (assuming your device supports the proper bands - for anyone visiting, refer to https://www.frequencycheck.com/countries/japan ). For wired connections, almost every new building in Tokyo has fiber, and 10Gbps support is pretty common (NTT, Sony, Softbank and others all offer it) while I don't believe it's widely available at all in Vietnam.

Anyway, everyone will have their own experience, and I haven't been in Vietnam since before the pandemic, but last time I was there (4 cities and a few out of town trips), while I had OK connectivity, I wasn't blown away by it vs Japan or other places. I'd take Japanese traffic safety and street sanitation over Vietnam every day of the year though.