[_def]

That's an interesting take. I always thought in Japan they have this sentiment of "it's good enough" for machines because in comparison it seems like a lot of old tech like this is still around over there. And I really love that, a lot of modern (software) engineering seems like an economic scam to me that really isn't necessary. Also, I bet the system shown here (once loaded) is super responsive. I keep crying over weird and sluggish web/Elektron interfaces I have to deal with every day

[Dalewyn]

Laziness is the mother of all inventions, as the old saying goes.

Japanese are not lazy, they are one of the most capable people on the planet, but that also means they don't innovate or see the value of new inventions.

A great example is that in the west, we have specific kitchen tools for everything. An apple peeler, for example. Specifically to peel and only peel apples and only apples. Why? Because everyone's a lazy bastard.

But in Japan? One kitchen knife for everything. Yes, one single kitchen knife. For everything. Why? Because everyone is skilled with the kitchen knife to do anything and everything with it, so they don't need to innovate and invent apple peelers.

Or another great example: Japan started using telephones and then mobile phones and that was good enough for them. The west wanted even more convenience and invented smartphones.

As you put it, doing it the old fashioned way is "good enough" for Japan because they aren't lazy. They are both among the most advanced and regressive people on the planet.

[loriverkutya]

I started to have an interest in Japanese kitchen/cooking lately and every cookbook I have lists more than one type of knife as an essential.

Also this article mentions that the chef of the restaurant in the Japan House in London: “Akira has used many different types of knives in the past, but these days he finds that one sturdy knife and one small petit knife are enough to prepare almost any Japanese dish.”

So I’m not sure where you information is coming from but sounds more like myth than fact.

Article: https://www.japanhouselondon.uk/discover/japanese-knives-par...

[busterarm]

Fax machines are still popular because you still need to put your hanko on everything in Japan and digital signing services are only just recently catching up to giving people the capability to sign with a stamp.

Give it another decade or two and fax machines will be gone.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YmfFHz2-uC8

[iLoveOncall]

> Also, I bet the system shown here (once loaded) is super responsive. I keep crying over weird and sluggish web/Elektron interfaces I have to deal with every day

You're probably right, but the actual software in only a small part of the process here. People have to go and manually cut the punch cards once produced for example, so it turns into an extremely slow and inefficient process overall.

That said, would they benefit from a years-long, 10 times over budget and bug riddled software renewal? Probably not.