Japan still uses a fax machine in 2022

I couldn’t find an image of a fax machine on my preferred website unsplash. That’s how old these are.

It’s a beautiful Tuesday morning. I am on my way to work. I can’t tell you what job I do but it involves little monsters. That’s the only thing I am allowed to share.

I arrive at the parking lot. I meet my colleague for the day. We discuss the outline of the day. But something wasn’t quite right. So I told her to double-check if things were all good to go. Then she tells me, ‘‘According to the Fax they sent us, this is the poison you need to take to die’’ That last part I obviously made up because I stopped listening after she said, “the Fax they sent us’’. The fax? What does she mean by ‘‘the Fax’’. I reconfirmed with her and yes, they did send us a fax.
My first question- “We have a fax machine?”

My second question- “They sent us a fax?”

A fax in 2021. The person who invented the fax machine wouldn’t have thought that 2021 and fax would be in the same sentence. When I googled why Japan still uses a fax machine I even got an ad for fax machine.

The second ad in Japanese talks about internet fax. What is that?

As I started my research I gave up after 76 seconds. It took me 76 seconds to realize it was a pointless pursuit because just like the use of the fax machines there are many things that don’t make sense in Japan. Some of these things I actually like. These are only in Japan things. So while I don’t question those things that I like why should I question the mighty fax machine. I don’t question the immaculate customer service I get when I enter any shop or restaurant. I don’t question the custom of not giving tips even though you just want to thank the person for their immaculate service. I don’t question how I can just leave my stuff in a packed station and come back to find them at the very spot I left them. There are so many unexplainable benefits I reap from living in Japan so why should I question the inconvenience of a fax machine.
Let them use their fax machines as long as they want. But also start changing this view that Japan is in the future. It’s 2022. Japan is not in the future. It’s behind a lot of countries in different sectors. Tech isn’t something Japan adopts really quickly. So if there’s one thing you can take from this blog it’s this part. So why not tweet and say ‘‘Japan still uses a fax machine in 2022 but I don’t care’’

You can also reach out and let me know if your country still uses a fax machine. You can reach me on my Instagram @rash__eeq or just comment here or send me a fax!