Is Japan technologically the most advanced nation on Earth?

No, lol. It’s probably not even the most technologically advanced in Asia. It’s difficult to visit Japan and not feel as if a few things are dated. The machines you can use to pay for things are cool, but they don’t scream technological sophistication. Nor does the fact that I can’t simply use my phone to pay for everything almost everywhere, including some lines of the metro and Shinkansen (and maybe there is a way to do this, but it didn’t appear to be very straightforward). Even the Shinkansen, while marvelous, is not a new technology. It’s from the 1960s.

Japan very much feels like a country that technologically peaked in the 1980s with a few cool technological innovations built over top of that existing system.

What’s impressive about Japan in 2026 is not that it’s at the technological cutting edge, but that’s it’s a society where most everything works, the trains run on time, and it’s safe and clean.

(These consoles in Japanese hotels reminded me of something from the 1980s. In fact, a lot of visiting Japan actually made me nostalgic for life in America from the 1980s and 1990s. Japan just still has that 80s and 90s feel, especially the further you get outside of big cities. Image source: Trip Advisor).