[iand675]

I think something that's probably under appreciated if you don't read/write Kanji– bad penmanship is incredibly hard to read due to the complexity of the characters. Good penmanship is extremely valued in Japan, so that need for precision tends to bleed over into an overarching valuing of stationary and related accessories.

[minnowguy]

This is why Japanese pens are the best.

[paweladamczuk]

Is handwriting really that important now that you can cheaply print anything?

[mc32]

...but they aren't the only ones who use logographs and those other places don't have the same legacy...