Re: [tlug] [OT] What's up with online Japanese<->Japanese dictionaries?

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Martin Killmann writes:

 > Anyway, it's quite interesting to compare popular Japanese websites with
 > their US counterparts. Google vs. Yahoo.co.jp is just one example, I can
 > also give you:
 > 
 > http://www.amazon.com/ vs. http://www.rakuten.co.jp/
 > http://www.youtube.com/ vs. http://www.nicovideo.jp/
 > http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/ vs. http://kakaku.com/
 > 
 > On all western designs, I see clearer structure, larger fonts, less text
 > overall, less links and less animation.

But you'll also see that in the same company (google.com
vs. google.co.jp is probably the most successful in enforcing a global
(ie, American -- hi, Darren, I get sarcastic too ;-) style, but the
U.S. version of SONY or Yahoo! or TOYOTA's home page is much leaner
and cleaner than the Japanese version.

 > I wonder why there is a design preference for overload and clutter
 > in Japanese websites and I don't think there is a trivial answer.

I suspect part of it is economics.  People are willing to pay a lot to
be on the front page, even if it's a tiny text link.

 > It's even more baffling when you consider traditional Japanese
 > aesthetics.

But that doesn't apply to text.  Except manga, where the text is
almost an afterthought anyway.