One reason is that computers, at the outset, never worked well for the Japanese. The
country’s language — a mix of three syllabaries, with thousands of complex “kanji” ideograms — bedeviled early-age word-processing software. Until the early 1990s, Japanese was nearly impossible to type. Even today, particularly for older Japanese people, it’s easier to write a letter by hand than with a standard keyboard. Japan also relies on seals, called “hanko,” that are required for most official documents.
While the typing difficulties also apply to China, the country never got stuck in the fax stage, tech experts say.