High Tech Japan?

Japan is a wealthy country, isn't it? It is, in fact, the second largest economy next to the United States.

Japan is known for high technology, isn't it? It is, in fact home to dozen of global technolgy leaders such as Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Casio, Nintendo, Sharp and Mitsubishi. It is a nation that prides itself on high tech innovation.

Why, then, has this wealth and high tech talent not shown up in Japanese television? I am not talking about the television sets. I am talking about television content. It's pathetic. Production values from the 1960's. Something that American high school kids would do. No. Strike that. American high school kids would use far more computer graphics than TBS, Fuji or NHK.

It is a regular scene to see TV presenters holding up a cardboard sign and pealing off pieces to reveal the content beneath. This reminds me of very early days of American television.

In America, CNN has adopted a very cool technology called the "Magic Wall" that was introduced during the US Presidential election race.

Meanwhile, back in Japan, The Daily Yomiuiri website regularly crashes my browser.

But wait, I really must be careful what I say. It is not that Japanese television does not use any computer graphics. They do. In fact they use too much. Too many words on the screen, too many spinning kanji characters. Grotesquely sized and colours subtitles. Endless annoying pinging and sparkling sounds. Utterly intrusive and annoying. Just endless visual pollution and noise, noise, noise.

It is not confined to one type channel or one type of program. The problem is wide spread.

It is bewildering that a culture known for Zen and peace and serenity behaves this way. Why do they?

And, it is wildly ineffective. People just drown it out.

I recommend to the television industry in Japan get a Mac Powerbook and learn to use the very basic computer graphic and video production software. It is a small step to take, but it will go a long way in taking your production values out of the 1960's. Then, take a basic course in design. Less is more. This won't solve all of your problems - there are many - but it is a start.