Information Research Weblog

I'm glad I'm now subscribed to the Information Research Weblog. I was looking forward to receive fresh feed from the weblog in my recently installed Mozilla Thunderbird. It just happened that the last message was about Japan, and -- what a coincidence -- I am presently living in Japan, and I certainly have an opinion on cell phones here, as well as information related issues. What a nice way to start a contribution! :-)

As for previous entries on the subject, I must ask: "What if, in this case, information was just personal feelings?" The original article doesn’t show any scientific basis (and actually doesn't pretend to have any). Molly Wood could have used numbers to add credibility to his article, but she chose to use only personal observation, maybe influenced with previous thoughts she had about the country, and extrapolated her personal views to make us believe this is reality. Since most people have a stereotypical view of Japan it's not difficult to convince them that she's right about what she says.

While I'm talking about my own experience of Japan, I always try to keep in mind that everything I say can be contradicted by any other's experience, since we all have different points of views according to our background, personal opinions, and maybe pure chance.

Let me tell you about cellular phones. Before I came here, I was completely against this annoying, environmental-unfriendly tool. But I have to admit that, since phone lines in Japan are so expensive, and maybe because of social pressure, I was just 'forced' to get my own 'keitai'. My feeling was that everybody needed that tool, and, in the end, I found it very useful. I now use it as my personal agenda, as an English-Japanese dictionary; I use it as a camera too; I even use it as a mirror, sometimes! So I agree on Wood's view on the fact that (almost) everyone in Japan has cellular phones, but people might not use it as often for talking, since we are not allowed to talk in the train.

On the other hand, I completely agree with the fact that our stereotypical 'technologically crazy' Japan is exaggerated. I guess it depends where you are in Japan. I live in the Chiba prefecture, not too far from Tokyo, in a relatively small city. Probably the picture could be different in Tokyo, and even then! It's hard to have an accurate picture, and it’s probably not a good idea trying to resume Japan into one idea. In my first trip to Japan, I was really surprised how much nature is present in this land. This might look cliché, but both worlds are living here, in a strangely peaceful harmony. If it’s probably true that that many 'techno-gadgets' are invented and bought here, probably more than everywhere else, the idea that Japanese are gone crazy with technology is not accurate.

Felix Arseneau