Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. There's a dotted line between geekdom and Japan -- some of us call ourselves "otaku;" we follow Japanese technology companies; we look to Japanese culture as a beacon of our tech-obsessed future; we dream of visiting Tokyo. And yet we love to criticize Japanese culture, as if to say, "Well, sure, they make cool stuff, but they sure are messed up." I'm no expert on Japanese culture. While my visits to the island nation
