Japan's IC cards are weird and wonderful

Latency, Throughput, and Gate Design

• Many comments stress that FeliCa-based IC cards feel “instant” (<100 ms), enabling people to walk through gates without breaking stride; failures close gates, which are otherwise open-by-default.
• Western EMV contactless is described as noticeably slower (hundreds of ms) due to asymmetric cryptography and older specs (RSA), especially in London/NYC.
• Some argue gates are rarely the true bottleneck vs. crowding, platforms, and train dwell times; others note big events (e.g., conventions, stadiums) where every extra 100 ms clearly matters.
• Design contrast: Tokyo gates are open-then-close-on-fail; London’s are closed-then-open-on-success. Several people say this design difference is as important as protocol speed.

IC Cards vs. QR Codes, EMV, and Gate‑less Systems

• Multiple operators are adding QR and EMV readers, often to cut hardware and licensing costs, especially in low-volume or rural areas.
• Some see QR as a regression: fumbling with apps, alignment, and backend dependence vs. IC cards that are “always armed” and resilient to outages.
• Others argue QR mainly replaces magnetic paper tickets, not IC cards, and can work well where adoption is high (e.g., China).
• A recurring counterpoint: ultimate throughput gain comes from removing gates entirely, as in some European systems; supporters like the flexibility and inspector-based enforcement, critics prefer gates for clear feedback and reduced user error.

Economics, Governance, and Culture

• Japan’s rail companies are portrayed as more entrepreneurial: stored-value cards, real-estate development around stations, retail revenue, and government-backed employer commute subsidies.
• There’s disagreement over how “private” these systems really are vs. deeply state-capital funded and regulated.
• Some tie Western underinvestment in fast, rider-centered transit to seeing mass transit as a cost center or “second-class” service, contrasted with Japan’s focus on commuter volume and reliability.

Device Support, Security, and Fragmentation

• iPhones globally support FeliCa; most non-Japanese Android SKUs disable it despite having the hardware, though enthusiasts can re-enable via rooting/firmware.
• IC cards store value offline using symmetric keys; commenters debate “security by obscurity” vs. public cryptography and discuss failure modes if keys were ever widely compromised.
• In daily life, Japan’s broader payment landscape is seen as fragmented: dozens of IC, QR, and point systems with inconsistent acceptance, even within one department store, despite the smoothness of IC in transit.