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Correct it WAS high tech but not anymore. I went to Tokyo in 2013 and 2014. That probably was cool in the 90's but lately Japan hasn't done anything new in ov

Correct it WAS high tech but not anymore. I went to Tokyo in 2013 and 2014. That probably was cool in the 90's but lately Japan hasn't done anything new in over a decade.

tim333 12y ago
The Honda uni-cub is new and quite cool (not released yet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCwzaTPARtU&feature=youtu.be&t=25s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCwzaTPARtU&feature=youtu.be...
- DannoHung 12y ago
  It's a mobility device for the elderly.
ekianjo 12y ago
> That probably was cool in the 90's but lately Japan hasn't done anything new in over a decade. Living in Japan and this is dead right. I'd say two decades actually.
- kentosi 12y ago
  A friend of mine who recently went on a trip to Tokyo said that it looked like how people in the 80s/90s thought the future would look like. I guess he was spot-on.
- A_COMPUTER 12y ago
  I was living in Japan 22 years ago (Yamanashi), and I agree with your two-decade assessment.
  - ekianjo 12y ago
    Thanks for your confirmation - I've been almost a decade in Japan and been following its unfortunate technological decline for a while before I moved here.
- Animats 12y ago
  That's sad. Futuristic stuff often gets to the prototype stage in Japan, such as maglev trains, mobile robots, and vertical/horizontal elevators, but large scale deployment isn't happening. If you have a cool idea for Japan, there is now a well-funded "Cool Japan" venture capital fund.[1] The government of Korea is funding K-pop, and the government of Japan wants to catch up. So far, they've bought a translation/subbing company, started up an anime streaming site (daisuki.net), and are funding a food court in Singapore and a green tea restaurant in the US. They need more advanced concepts to fund. [1] http://www.cj-fund.co.jp/en/ http://www.cj-fund.co.jp/en/
  - ekianjo 12y ago
    Cool Japan is just ridiculous. A concept started by politicians to make it seem they are doing something but they don't even understand why their culture is attractive in the first place. They are completely oblivious to it, and then you get these companies sucking money from them for easy profit and no oversight under the "Cool Japan" brand. Another good example of silly Japanese politics.
    - Animats 12y ago
      The Cool Japan fund just got started a few months ago. Since this is a forum for startup people, maybe someone has an idea that they might fund. They clearly need some new ideas. Since this article is about faxes, consider better apps for dealing with faxes from a phone that are compatible with fax practice in Japan. Maybe a system where you tap your seal against your phone, a piezoelectric energy harvesting part in the seal generates enough energy to power a key exchange over low-energy Bluetooth, and you've signed.
  - yongjik 12y ago
    Eh, I've lived in the US for four years, so maybe I'm missing the latest development, but the popularity of K-pop or Korean dramas has little to do with government funding. It's just that Korean entertainment business somehow found a good opportunity. And honestly I doubt a government can play a major role in developing any entertainment industry: that's how you end up with disastrous propaganda movies. (Also, I'm never a big fan of K-pop myself, but I guess its popularity is dwarfed by all the Japanese anime fans in the world?)
ArekDymalski 12y ago
I faced exactly the same disillusionment when I visited Japan in 2007.

Correct it WAS high tech but not anymore. I went to Tokyo in 2013 and 2014. That probably was cool in the 90's but lately Japan hasn't done anything new in over a decade.

tim333 12y ago

The Honda uni-cub is new and quite cool (not released yet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCwzaTPARtU&feature=youtu.be&t=25s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCwzaTPARtU&feature=youtu.be...

DannoHung 12y ago
It's a mobility device for the elderly.

ekianjo 12y ago

> That probably was cool in the 90's but lately Japan hasn't done anything new in over a decade. Living in Japan and this is dead right. I'd say two decades actually.

kentosi 12y ago
A friend of mine who recently went on a trip to Tokyo said that it looked like how people in the 80s/90s thought the future would look like. I guess he was spot-on.
A_COMPUTER 12y ago
I was living in Japan 22 years ago (Yamanashi), and I agree with your two-decade assessment.
- ekianjo 12y ago
  Thanks for your confirmation - I've been almost a decade in Japan and been following its unfortunate technological decline for a while before I moved here.
Animats 12y ago
That's sad. Futuristic stuff often gets to the prototype stage in Japan, such as maglev trains, mobile robots, and vertical/horizontal elevators, but large scale deployment isn't happening. If you have a cool idea for Japan, there is now a well-funded "Cool Japan" venture capital fund.[1] The government of Korea is funding K-pop, and the government of Japan wants to catch up. So far, they've bought a translation/subbing company, started up an anime streaming site (daisuki.net), and are funding a food court in Singapore and a green tea restaurant in the US. They need more advanced concepts to fund. [1] http://www.cj-fund.co.jp/en/ http://www.cj-fund.co.jp/en/
- ekianjo 12y ago
  Cool Japan is just ridiculous. A concept started by politicians to make it seem they are doing something but they don't even understand why their culture is attractive in the first place. They are completely oblivious to it, and then you get these companies sucking money from them for easy profit and no oversight under the "Cool Japan" brand. Another good example of silly Japanese politics.
  - Animats 12y ago
    The Cool Japan fund just got started a few months ago. Since this is a forum for startup people, maybe someone has an idea that they might fund. They clearly need some new ideas. Since this article is about faxes, consider better apps for dealing with faxes from a phone that are compatible with fax practice in Japan. Maybe a system where you tap your seal against your phone, a piezoelectric energy harvesting part in the seal generates enough energy to power a key exchange over low-energy Bluetooth, and you've signed.
- yongjik 12y ago
  Eh, I've lived in the US for four years, so maybe I'm missing the latest development, but the popularity of K-pop or Korean dramas has little to do with government funding. It's just that Korean entertainment business somehow found a good opportunity. And honestly I doubt a government can play a major role in developing any entertainment industry: that's how you end up with disastrous propaganda movies. (Also, I'm never a big fan of K-pop myself, but I guess its popularity is dwarfed by all the Japanese anime fans in the world?)

ArekDymalski 12y ago

I faced exactly the same disillusionment when I visited Japan in 2007.