> Do they favor it? Or do they just put up with it?
They put up with it, for a couple of reasons. First is the absolute domination of the internet by mobile phones running proprietary "versions" of the web, and second is the language barrier - the newest ideas and techniques from the west simply don't get translated, or get translated poorly.
I've recently taken a job running UI/UX for a Japanese software company, and let me tell you - it's an uphill battle.
You mean i-mode, ezWeb, etc? They aren't as dominant as they used to be though, right? A mobile site has to support both an i-mode and a mobile web version now, so i-mode is in a sort of IE6 situation? Not as far along yet of course, but getting there.
No, it's not as bad as it was in, say, 2007 ;) But it's still dominant.
For a large percentage of Japanese, the cell phone is their personal computer (and camera, and wallet...). If they own a desktop or laptop at all, it's rarely used. Obviously iPhone and Android look, to us, like nirvana in such a society but there's hesitancy there because (1) by and large they lack some key features like NFC and (2) switching carriers in Japan is, to borrow a Jobsism, a bag of hurt. It can be done, but you'll leave a lot of yourself behind.
They put up with it, for a couple of reasons. First is the absolute domination of the internet by mobile phones running proprietary "versions" of the web, and second is the language barrier - the newest ideas and techniques from the west simply don't get translated, or get translated poorly.
I've recently taken a job running UI/UX for a Japanese software company, and let me tell you - it's an uphill battle.