Comments on J-List side blog: Japan, the Cash Based Society

It's one of the things that drives me mad about li...

2009-02-03T22:26:00.000+09:00

It's one of the things that drives me mad about living in Japan, always having to make sure I have enough cash on me as money gets spent like water here.

I've been to hotels and gas stations that did not take credit cards. Absurd.

Yes, it's a shame. If we're going to get reform of...

2009-02-02T12:23:00.000+09:00

Yes, it's a shame. If we're going to get reform of all that crap, it'll be now or never.

OOOH man that story about Keiko Fuji having her mo...

2009-02-02T12:09:00.000+09:00

OOOH man that story about Keiko Fuji having her money confiscated (stolen, really - robbed at metaphorical gunpoint) just reminds me how angry I am that these laws that allow the State to rob someone of their property without due process, without the person even being charged with a crime, have not yet been declared unconstitutional.

Greg, no, I checked my local bank's rate before th...

2009-02-01T01:41:00.000+09:00

Greg, no, I checked my local bank's rate before the post. 0.05%! As in, half of .1%, or 1/20 of 1%, which would suck anyway. My wife is happy when she can get a return of 1% on her money here, but of course she's not "baka" and also has money in the U.S. at better rates. The other side of all this is that prices don't go up in Japan, and a lot of things (beef bowl, a train ticket) here are still at their 1991 prices, when I got here.

I hope your readers don't think your numeracy skil...

2009-01-31T23:54:00.000+09:00

I hope your readers don't think your numeracy skills suck, and you really meant 5% interest instead of 0.05%. Because when I first found out how little Japanese banks pay, that's what I thought. I couldn't believe how low the rate was!

On the other hand, there are rarely monthly fees. I think if you compare, North American banks probably pay negative interest to a lot of their customers! That is, the monthly service charge is larger than the interest paid.

Also, the photo you've chosen is a bit natsukashii -- only in Japan have I seen people routinely count bills like that!

Wow, hmmm... the Rightist Socialist Party of Japan...

2009-01-31T16:54:00.000+09:00

Wow, hmmm... the Rightist Socialist Party of Japan, maybe? This would/will be pretty hard for me, considering the fact I've grown accustomed to using my Debit card for all purchases over five bucks(and I withdraw about 40 dollars per week just for smaller stuff). Well, at least they aren't wasting money.

Sound like it'd be nice to have cash. But part of ...

2009-01-31T01:46:00.000+09:00

Sound like it'd be nice to have cash. But part of the problem with Japan now is that people horde their cash, don't spend it, never doing anything useful with it, and leaving it in the accounts where the politicians nick at it to build stupid things like a hot springs hotel on the top of a mountain that no one will use, for the purposes of "public economic stimulation." Frustrating.