I used to have a Japanese professor who has, by now, spent most of his life in the USA, but he visits Japan with his family sometimes. He told our class this: “Whenever I come back to Japan I’m always shocked. I’m Japanese but I’m still shocked. I’m shocked at how fast they (the Japanese) develop new technologies that makes daily lives more convenient. My sons always told me they felt that the US is usually ten years behind Japan when it came to technology (his sons were children when they said this so cut them some slack). But I think our innovations aren’t always transparent. Because they usually hide in everyday objects. You guys probably know about the toilets; those are popular. But there are others too. Did you know that Panasonic has a fridge that keeps your frozen meat soft? The meat is frozen, but it stays soft just like when it’s fresh. Can you believe it?
I think the Japanese, we usually focus on making our daily lives more convenient. That’s why Japanese companies like producing everyday objects; but they make them better, more innovated. It’s a principle behind Japanese companies that you need to understand when you study them; they put the customers first, and the investors second. That’s why you should buy Japanese products, but invest in American companies.”
So in short, according to my Japanese professor, Japanese toilets are more tehnologically advanced because Japanese companies focus on innovating them, more so than American companies. Because in their mindset, the Japanese like to improve objects that they use everyday. Their innovations may not always be acknowledged, because the innovated objects are often mundane, but that’s the way they like to do things.