The 7-Eleven ATM is the greatest expression of modern Japan, without even trying
It’s not just about the money…

A few years ago BBC Radio 4 presented a show called “A History of the World in 100 Objects”. The host — British Museum director Neil MacGregor — used a selection of classic artworks, tools and other artifacts to explain how we had arrived at the present day. Occasionally the choices seemed to be peculiar as individual pieces but as a whole, the objects captured the complex web of human history.*
I was reminded of this as I was thinking about which object could best capture modern Japan. While some might select a traditional fan, or even Japan’s pioneering work in Lithium-free batteries, the answer is of course an ATM. But it’s specifically the 7-Eleven ATM that captures the key themes of modern Japan while also ensuring a nod to its rich past.
1. Unique economic model & behaviours
Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, is the ATM’s domain: money. While capital plays an important role in all nations, Japan’s post-war growth saw one of the largest economic booms in history with average real income rising by a factor of five from 1958 to 1987. Even after the bursting of this bubble Japan’s complex economy (often referred to as “miraculous”) continues to cause problems for economists trying to explain it today. Tokyo remains one of the key financial capitals in the world even if Japan was the only major economy to start 2018 with a shrinking economy.
Secondly it is also worth noting alongside this point that 7-Eleven is of course an American brand, something especially important when considering the recovery of post-war Japan.
Finally the ATM’s actual function: cash. Japan is still a society that runs on paper money, and despite some change there is no signs of this ending anytime soon. To give you context of how cash reliant Japan is — the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has set itself the target of making just 40 percent of all transactions in the country cashless by 2025.
2. Omotenashi first
I’m not sure if I’ve ever been at an ATM outside of Japan that has both a cup holder AND a walking-stick hook attached to it. Japan’s level of customer service is seen as a gold standard around the world and the sometimes excessive level of support being offered here mimics many a consumer experience. The fact this machine also lives inside a konbini — a convenience store — unpins this all.

3. Demographic time bomb
The walking stick isn’t simply an expression of convenience, it is also a gesture to another more concerning aspect of modern Japan: its aging population. Japan has one of the oldest societies and this is only set to accelerate. For the first time since the government started keeping track there were fewer than 1 million births in 2016, with the country’s population falling by more than 300,000 people.
4. Anachronistic relationship with technology
One of my favourite things about Japan is the complex relationship with technology. Despite having a leading-edge profile you can still send a fax, and sometimes even have to. In 2016 Japanese idol group SMAP used fax as the main means to announce their retirement. The ATM captures this with both an analogue keypad and touchscreen sitting side by side. Crucially, both are always in perfect working order.

5.Iconic cultural heritage & tradition
The one thing that you might think as missing — and is perhaps more subtly than it should in terms of importance — is the presence of “traditional Japan”: fans, temples and maybe some geisha. This does in fact feature on the screen as a set of animations that update according to the season. Until recently this showed a couple in traditional yukata dress, walking hand in hand towards fireworks. Moving into autumn this has now switched to a rabbit jumping across the moon — referring to the time of Tsukimi “moon-viewing” and folklore that identifies the markings of the moon as a rabbit. Both nod to both tradition but also the importance of seasonality in Japanese.
Overall what each of these features represent best is the wealth of dichotomies within Japan that seem to align, but then require a double take — it’s quiet but loud, old but new, intimate but overwhelming. For a long time this has been it’s biggest selling point for the tourism industry, pushing out a variety of “Old meets New” slogans. As a result it would be impossible to capture Japan in even a hundred objects, let alone one, but the 7-Eleven ATM is having a pretty good go.
*In case you’re wondering Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa made the cut of A History of the World in 100 Objects
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