Is shutter sound a culture?

 I don't know if this is a correct cultural category, but the Japanese version of the iPhone makes it impossible to turn off the shutter sound.

This is often concluded as a cultural difference between Japan and other countries.

It is said that the reason why the shutter sounds is to prevent nuisance, but I don't agree with this explanation because the shutter sound itself is annoying.

It is said that the first cell phone to be equipped with a camera was a PHS handset released in Japan in 1999. This camera was intended for videophone use, so it could only be used for taking still photos, and for selfies.

It was in Japan in 2000 that the world's first cell phone with a rear-facing camera, which would later become a standard feature in most cell phones, was launched.

In Japan, the camera function of these early cell phones was already designed to make a shutter sound when taking a picture.

When the world's first camera phone was launched, it was naturally difficult for people around to consider the possibility that the person holding the phone in their hands might be taking pictures, so the shutter sound might have been made to prevent voyeurism with this small device that can be used like a spy camera.

Japanese cell phone manufacturers and phone companies have never disclosed their reasons for adding this feature. These shutter sounding devices were not legally required, but were self-imposed by the phone manufacturers and phone companies.

In any case, these superfluous features were accepted by the Japanese public and became a standard feature in all subsequent cell phones released in Japan.

Here are a few questions that came to mind.

Question 1

Do Japanese people really want to spy on people that much?

Japanese people's self-image is often wrong. Japanese people think of themselves as a very well mannered people. There is no trash on the streets, people do not riot when disasters occur, and lines are neatly lined up. In the Japanese countryside, people often do not lock their houses. Why do such Japanese people perceive themselves to be voyeurs?

This can be explained by a clear reason.

Japanese people's good manners are not established because they want to be well-behaved, but because Japanese society is built on mutual surveillance, which prevents them from behaving in a conspicuous way that is different from others.

This makes it easy for the Japanese to cheat when they are not monitored. Because conforming to peer pressure takes precedence over wanting to be honest in society, employees will obediently follow their bosses' orders to cheat. This is because in Japanese society, if one person stands out and refuses to follow the instructions while others are cheating, he or she will be ostracized.

Because of this cultural background, if the camera's shutter does not sound, the people around you are unaware that you are taking pictures, and since this mutual monitoring function does not work, they suspect that someone is likely to take pictures illegally.

Question 2

Do all Japanese cameras have a shutter sound?

Oddly enough, mere cameras sold in Japan either don't have a shutter sound effect feature or can be set to not make any sound.

The shutter sound is simply added to the camera function of cell phones, and cameras without sound are readily available.

Question 3

Does the shutter sound help to prevent spy shots?

First of all, if you are wondering if it is possible to take a spy photo with a Japanese smartphone that requires a shutter sound, the answer is yes. There are apps that take pictures without sounding the shutter, so it is not absolutely impossible to take pictures without sounding the shutter. However, they have some disadvantages such as the lower image quality you get compared to the normal way of taking pictures.

The next question is whether or not it is possible to be secretly photographed with a smartphone in Japan, and the answer is that it is quite possible.

It is easy to import a smartphone through mail order or get a used smartphone with foreign specifications. If the forced shutter sound discourages voyeurs, they will probably be passionate about getting a smartphone with no shutter sound.

Risks are not decreasing, but new risks are increasing.