Japanese hanko (seals) are also traditional crafts and are also an important piece of culture.

Same can be said of kimono, katana swords, and irori fireplaces.

Great for collectors, nostalgia, and special ceremonies, but if still mandated for daily use, then they would seriously hinder life in Japan.

Japanese hanko (seals) are also traditional crafts and are also an important piece of culture.

True. And therefore do not belong into a modern, 21-century, computerized office environment.

They may be part of Japanese culture but, like family registers, it doesn’t mean they have a useful function in the 21st century. Time to move on, more of a hinderance than a help.

Having wax seals on envelopes was pretty and pragmatic in the pre-industrial age too. Somehow we were able to move on from that. Amazingly.

It will not really be a zero-sum competition. Both digital and transitional ways can co-exist. Sealing wax still survives. Japanese hanko holds aesthetics in design.

Entirely agree with posts above. Moving forward and adapting to the changing world does not negate the cultural and aesthetic importance and pleasure in tradition or traditional products. I still use a wax seal on the Christmas cards that I hand deliver to local friends, though it would be a nuisance for the majority of correspondence (and I still haven’t worked out how to add a wax seal to my posts here, it keeps falling off the screen!).