What is Digg?Sponsored by Travelzoo
Take Advantage of Ridiculously Low Holiday Airfares view!
travelzoo.com - Flights $52 and up for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year. But move on it now.
94 Comments
- OsakaWilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Complete and utter *****. Everyone here in Japan uses cash. This article stinks of someone who is trying to convince Americans to use e-cash by saying how popular it is in Japan.
As of now, this article Digg post belongs in the realm of the breatharians--maybe someone believes they can do it, but anyone claiming to actually do it is full of *****. - Fantt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My Japanese friends tell me this is total BS. They all carry tons of cash over there and are amazed that Americans don't routinely walk around with hundreds of dollars in their pockets.
- mikeruiz7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I only use gold chips / dust, as you see I am a pirate.
- Kman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"it's never uncommon to see people with tens of thousands of yen in their pockets."
"what is that like $10.. not uncommon here either."
10,000 Yen = about $85. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Um... how do they buy weed & blow and stuff?
- sonician, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Having lived in Japan for a year, I find this claim suspect. Japan is still very much a cash based society, and it's never uncommon to see people with tens of thousands of yen in their pockets.
- medieval, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ohhhh, i forgot about strippers. we need cash, forever.
- Goldenatom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've been here in Japan close to 18 months now....I've NOT used cash at a store or for any purchase really about 5 times, seriously...there are very few places that even take credit cards and their debit system is in its infancy..
- Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If it weren't for all the crack I've been smoking, there's no way I'd ever carry cash!
- nmoog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree with the "suspect" claim - Japan is soooo cash based its unbelievable (at least in 2003 is was) No shops use EFTPOS - very few use credit cards. Over a national holiday the banks all close, and everyone has to get cash to last 4 days. I got out $1500 worth of yen to make sure I was covered last holiday - spooky!
- richpav, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"15 million Japanese use one form of debit card or another," is a believable statement. The only way to never use paper money here would be to only make purchases at convenience stores and only commute by railway.
- medieval, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1seems like i only use cash nowadays to pay for parking at events, tip valets, parking meters, and for the vending machine at work. all four are related to parking to my parking my ass somewhere and eating something.
- tysonhy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I Prefer Plastic. Mmmmmm.... Plassstic.
- sxtxixtxcxh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i don't doubt that it's true, but the headline makes it seem like that's EVERYONE or a majority in japan. do the math: it's like 12% of japan.
i bet there's a higher percentage of cashless americans in america than there are cashless japanese in japan :P. i don't use cash. (by cashless i don't mean absolutely broke.) - robert3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Only idiots and people with ***** credit use cash or debit cards anymore."
It's no wonder there are so many people chocking with credit card debt. Cash helps lots of people to spend less and know where their money is going instead of making Visa and MasterCard richer. - FaNtAsMa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I like paper money better. It's more tangible. You get more of a sense of value out of having $200 in your wallet as opposed to having a slip or a screen that tells you that you have $200.
- fanboydcs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I only use real money when I go to Roberto's Taco shop that is to small to have a credit card machine, once they get it, NO MORE CASH!!
- pjay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, OsakaWilson knows the deal. I taught English in Japan, they are far from a cashless society. Very few people have credit cards (I actually think that is a good thing). My "paycheck" was a big wad of Yen handed to me in an envelope mafia-style. It was kind of fun playing "rap video" for a few minutes before you had to take it to the bank and deposit it.
- futoshi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1yeah this is BS
Japan is very much a cash society...
If you want to see E-money at work, go to Hong Kong with their octopus card
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_card
now that is revolutionary. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They\'ve never liked paper money.
It\'s green...
like...GODZILA!
(noticed I only used ONE \'L\'...please don\'t sue me.) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They've never liked paper money.
It's green...
like...GODZILA!
(noticed I only used ONE 'L'...please don't sue me.) - futoshi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"In Japan we have the same card system as HK's Octopus card....here it's called "EDY"."
Yes but in HK the Octopus card is used a lot more than the equivalent in Japan.
I would sooner believe the 11% figure would apply to HK sooner than in Japan, on the basis of the usage of the octopus card. - Twinsoul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm in Japan right now, and trust me, they use paper money all the time. I've never had to use so much of it before, they don't take any credit cards.
- monistat7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow, I'm surprised at the number of people here that live in Japan (like me). Yeah, this article is *****. I was initially surprised, but carrying $300USD+ is pretty common.
I was shocked the first time I went to use the ATM on a national holiday and it was closed. Not just the one at the bank, but the whole system. You couldn't even use the ATMs at convenience stores.
15 million is about 11% of the population, but that still seems way too high. - nightscrawler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I never use paper money--in this age of debit, credit, online bill pay, and paypal...why do it?
- allanpat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0when i was in japan, i only found ONE major electronics superstore that accepted credit cards my entre 10 days there. as advanced as japan may be in some regards, they're ass backwards when it comes to credit/debit cards.
whoever wrote this article has no clue what they're talking about - yukevster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@ endekks
"In the US i used a debit card - virtually unheard of in Japan"
Here, here..this story is mis-leading. Japanese are well known for carrying wads of cash where-ever they go.
Credit Cards are still largely mis-trusted and Automatic Debit Cards are taking a long time to spread. - amohongos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't see how this statistic could possibly be true. Japan is much more of a cash -based society than the US. Very few stores even ACCEPT credit cards.
It just goes to show that you can't believe everything you read, especially on the internet. - SFBay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hehe got to love all the comments at the end - all the japanese residents getting home at midnight-1am and firing up the web browser .. hehe we all do it.
(Just fought my way home on the Saikyo line, jam packed at quarter to 12 ...) - BIGmog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I got an EDY card early on as I was excited to leave my cash at home. But very few places accepted EDY cards at first. It's changing recently. Last year, all Sunkus convenience stores started accepting EDY but it's far from widespread. However, I do see it as a growing trend.
- gwjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow; I got censored on Digg quoting a line from a John Lennon song.. freaky, I'd no idea we weren't allowed to use the "f" word in any context whatsoever... Oh well, I guess I know now.... I'm just weirded out by it.
- khkg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is BS. I live in Japan, and it is very much a cash based society. Much more so than the US. Debit cards are not common here. ATMs close on national holidays. Few retailers accept credit cards, and it's not uncommon to pay bills, even your rent, in cash. The average suit in Tokyo probably carries the equivalent of 500USD at any given time.
Compare this to NYC, where you can charge a Big Mac, or popcorn at the movies. - gwjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I bet Canadians give the Japanese a run for their plastic..
- NipponBill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Unbelievable BS. Where is this idiot doing research? (hint: not in Japan)
I too live in Japan and there are very few activities you can do without a big wad of cash.
No DIGG for doing research in a manga-fantasy world. - yohojones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Canucks are talking about debit (me anyways) because I live close to the border and Go to the states quite a bit and the places I got don't take debit.
The places I go are Walmart and Target too. I live in Saskatchewan. (say that f3 times fast) and North Dakota SURPRISINGLY doesn't have debit everywhere, but Saskatchewan does. - acontorer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The linked version of the article is WRONG. Original material at Washington Post ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR2005121101097.html ) says 15 million Japanese use e-cash -- not that 15 million have stopped using paper cash. Almost all users of e-cash also need to use paper cash.
I just got back from Tokyo, and there are tons of necessary and usual things that can only be bought with normal cash. - monticello, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0And why are you Canucks talking about debit like it doesn't exist anywhere else?
- blanoboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0In Japan we have the same card system as HK's Octopus card....here it's called "EDY".
Most gaijin living here don't know about it I'm guessing.
I pay for many of my bills at the convenience store here using my EDY card which I charge (add money to). It is basically cash on a card. Mind you, if you lose the card you are farked. - stuartcw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I live in Japan. I pay for my train journey and small purchases by smart card. I could get a phone which combines includes the smart card and supports another type of card which would make it possible to use cash less. Credit cards are commonly used for *large* purchases.
However, it is *impossible* to get through the day without using carrying *some* cash. While most Tokyo commuters are using smart cards (SUICA), only the early adopters are using smart cards regularly for other than small purchases. - vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Are hookers accepting plastic in Japan now too?
This article is stupid because it is trying to explain a trend that everyone already knows about. Banks prefer e-commerce because it costs $0.01 versus $1.00 for paper transactions. Consumers like it because it's easy to use and accepted pretty much anyplace. I probably make 98% of my purchaces with plastic, but none of this means that cash will ever be completely fazed out. Americans attach too much historical sentiment toward their currency and any talk of erradicating it brings out a whole hailstorm of opposition.
The idea of putting a credit card keychain with my keys still scares me though... - monticello, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is cool right?
But at the same time, you'll bitch about the government invading your privacy... your bank knows what you're doing 24/7. - chillguy84, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0After having been to japan, this article is frivolous. You cant use your credit card ANYWHERE in japan, except for maybe an electronics store. Restaurants, Convenience stores, the subway, etc. all accept cash only. I am used to carrying at most on $20 in my wallet, but while i was in Japan, carrying around $100 was a good idea. The e-money is a gimmick at best.
- endekks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Been living in Japan since 2002. The title of this post is flat out wrong, and the article is very misleading. Sure, the JR line has the SUICA card, and some mobile phones are starting to implement wireless paying methods, but those phones are hardly being used with the frequency to which this article alludes. In fact, I find that Japan is much more of a paper cash society in 2006 than the US was when I left it in 2002.
In the US i used a debit card - virtually unheard of in Japan. I paid the majority of my bills from an online interface to my bank - something which is only just now starting at some banks. And I am an early adopter of many technological things - so I have been on the lookout for these things, since I came to rely upon them when I was in the US.
Seriously, Japan has a few things which are further along than in the West, but a paperless cash system being commonplace is NOT one of them.
No digg for spreading even more misinformation about Japan. BONK! - tidejwe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Umm. . . keeping a stash of paper money is just plain SMART! For instance, lets say you get sued by the RIAA for a certain number of songs you downloaded. You could #1 pay them the extortion fine. #2 go to court and lie that it wasn't you #3 go to court and admit that you are an idiot that was stealing but pretend you think it is legal, #4 go out with your credit card and buy the albums of the songs you downloaded and say that you are just too stupid to rip the music yourself so you downloaded to save effort, but it was totally legal because you own the music, then get busted because they check your credit card purchases and see you are lying. #5 have a stash of cash already withdrawn, and go out and pay Grey whale anonymously for every album that they are suing you over, follow the rest of the steps in #4 and get away with it because they have absolutely no proof you did anything illegal. After the lawsuit is over, go sell said CD's back to Grey Whale and get some of your money back.
Moral of the story. . . Sometimes it's better to have CASH that can remain anonymous, although ENTIRELY honest people like yours truly ;) would never do something illegal, cash will never go away because it is a good way to remain anonymous from the government spying on everything you do. :) - rlutterb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+015 million Japanese e-money fans can't be wrong.
- Quantic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I'll take my Mark of the Beast on the hand, please.
That just seems more convenient than the forehead.
Thanks."
Seems someone else noticed. - MadFlyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0conigs,
It's 2006, i've been far there for 3 years... and i've seen twice 2000 yens bills... never touched one myself. some kind of mystical beast it seems... - yohojones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Debit has been in Canada for years. No signature required. Enter your pin and the transaction is done. No one here has cash. The hoodlums are actually kidnapping people and FORCING them to give their pin number now. Has happened to someone I know.
I would say I'm cashless. On line bill payment, credit cards and debit make carrying cash us less. Less than 5 change is such a nuisance. (Canada has 1 and 2 dollar coins.) With debit is an exact change transaction is A LOT more convenient.
Only cash I get now is family/friendly tech/av support. Try to turn it down but they won't let me. - SFBay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Huh? I live in Japan, and I don't know a single person who "never uses cash". Sure, there are a lot of options - I often pay for small things using my suica (train card w/ embedded credit) but 90% of the time, cash. If anything I think japanese use cash MORE than in my home country of Australia, where I was accustomed to using EFTPOS for anything over $10.
I don't like the cashless society anyway. I don't like these paper (or electronic, as the case may be)trails of purchase information existing. Especially not for anything I might later want to deny ..
So yeah. Total BS. Japan is advanced, sure, but there is NO WAY this is true. -
Show 51 - 95 of 95 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is