Galápagos syndrome (ガラパゴス化, Garapagosu-ka; / Galápagos effect) is a term of Japanese origin used in business studies to refer to an isolated development branch of a globally available product. The term is used as an analogy to a part of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Darwin encountered in the Galápagos Islands isolated flora and fauna, which had undergone evolutionary changes independently from the mainland. This phenomenon was a key to the development of evolutionary theory.^[1] Darwin stated that due to the differences in environment from one island to another, species adapted to make survival more viable in the local environment of each island. Similarly, a development of goods "in relative isolation from the rest of the world because of a focus on the local market"^[2] can lead to similarly differing products.

The term "Galápagos syndrome" has been used as a metaphor outside the field of business jargon. The term "Galápagosization", referring to the process of the isolation of Japanese "Galápagos-thinking", links this process to the Japanese island mentality.^[3][4][5]

The term "Galápagos syndrome" was originally coined to refer to Japanese 3G mobile phones, which had developed a large number of specialized features that were widely adopted in the Japanese market, but were unsuccessful abroad.^[6][7] While the original usage of the term was to describe highly advanced phones that were incompatible outside of Japanese networks, as the mobile phone industry underwent drastic changes globally, the term was used to emphasize the associated anxiety about how the development of Japanese mobile phones and those in the worldwide economy went along different paths. A derived term is Gara-phone (ガラケー, gara-kei), blending with "mobile phone" (携帯, keitai), used to refer to Japanese feature phones, by contrast with newer smart phones. Takeshi Natsuno, professor at Tokyo's Keio University, explained, "Japan's cellphones are like the endemic species that Darwin encountered on the Galápagos Islands—fantastically evolved and divergent from their mainland cousins."^[1] "Japanese phones suffer from 'Galapagos Syndrome'—are too complex to survive abroad."^[8]

Across Japan, the majority of the 190,000 ATMs do not accept bank and credit cards that have been issued outside of the country. According to an April 2022 article,^{[citation needed]} only about 20,000 post offices and convenience stores allow retrieving cash using non-Japanese bank cards. The Japanese government has expressed concern about this issue, and as a result the number of ATMs that accept foreign cards is^[when?] slowly increasing.^[9]

In 2004, the wallet phone was introduced in Japan as a means to allow mobile payment alongside numerous other applications. In some ways the wallet phone can be seen as a predecessor of mobile payment tools that were later released on the global market such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet.^[10]

Kei cars ("light cars") are small four-wheeled vehicles/cars that have an engine of less than 660cc and enjoy preferential treatment in the form of tax advantages and lower insurance costs. Originally the Japanese government encouraged the use of those "light cars". This category of cars features a number of different car types including sport cars, minivans and commercial vehicles. However, Kei cars are not seen as profitable in export markets and therefore are only part of the Japanese domestic automobile market.^[11] Despite no significant global success, major Japanese car manufacturers such as Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu and Honda still produce^[when?] models belonging to the Kei car category.^[12]

Korean language belongs to Koreanic languages. Therefore, the Korean language is de facto a comparative linguistic isolate. This contrasts with most European countries, the Americas, and Africa, which use the Latin alphabet and languages belonging to the Indo-European languages. This is because exchanges between these countries are easy.^[13]

For this reason, in the English-speaking world, the amount of basic information, especially online, is vast, and the sources of information are diverse.^[14] However, Korean language information has very few producers and its sources are not diverse, so it is easy for information to become isolated.^[15]

South Korea's geopolitical specificity, which is no different from that of an island country, is also influencing South Korea's Galápagos syndrome. South Korea's territory borders North Korea to the north across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), and movement across the MDL is strictly restricted. Consequently, access to China and Russia, land-bordering countries of North Korea, is impossible from South Korea by any means other than by ship or airplane, which has effectively made South Korea no different from an island country.^[16]

In Europe, Russia and China, vehicle width limit is 2.55 metres. In North America, the vehicle width limit is 2.6 metres. But the vehicle width limit in South Korea is 2.5 metres. European commercial vehicle manufacturers are complaining that this is obstructing their export of large commercial vehicles, especially buses, to South Korea. Actually, the Hyundai Xcient, a large truck made in South Korea, has a width of 2.5 m for domestic use, but a width of 2.55 m for export.^[17] This could pose a problem in the future when South Korea connects with China and Russia by land. Because large commercial vehicles registered in China or Russia, with a width of 2.55 meters, could pose a problem.

Motorcycles, except for motorcycles classified as emergency vehicles, are banned from entering expressways in South Korea. Also, in South Korea, motorcycles, except for motorcycles classified as emergency vehicles, have been banned from certain other roads designated for motor vehicles only. Actually, very few countries in the world ban motorcycles from entering controlled-access highways like South Korea.^[18] For more information, see Regulation of motorcycle access on freeways.

• Web compatibility issues in South Korea

• Restrictions on geographic data in South Korea – Due to geographic data restrictions in South Korea, mapping platforms in wide use elsewhere (such as Google Maps or Apple Maps) have limited utility in South Korea, impacting services that rely on it. This affects tourists and other visitors to South Korea who may either have to use a local mapping service (such as Naver or Kakao Maps) or suffer reduced functionality.^[19][20][21]

• Identity verification – Online services in countries other than South Korea and China do not require identity verification when signing up for services.^[22][23] There is criticism that it is difficult for overseas residents and foreigners to use online services in South Korea or China.^[24]

• Internet censorship in South Korea – South Korea is one of the few developed countries where pornography is largely illegal. South Korea is also a country that directly blocks pornographic sites, like China.^[25]

South Korean domestic ID card does not comply with ICAO Doc 9303, the international standard for ID cards.^[26]

South Korea's Civil Code is the only country in the world that prohibits marriage between relatives within the third cousins (8촌, palchon).^[27][28]

Most countries set the lower limit of the age of majority according to the Law at 18. But it's 19 (international age) in South Korea.^[29] There are only a very small number of countries or regions in the world where the lower limit of the age of majority is 19 or higher, such as Nebraska, Alabama, (19) and Mississippi (21) in the United States, some provinces or territories in Canada (19), Thailand (20), the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait (21).

In countries other than South Korea, the age for accessing or viewing adult content (movie, game, etc.) is 18 or older. However, in South Korea, according to the Youth Protection Act, you can only access or view adult content after 1 January of the year you turn 19 years old.^[30]

In countries other than South Korea, the definition of a child and adolescent under the protection laws from sexual abuse against children and adolescents is anyone under the age of 18. This is why the minimum age to legally appear in pornography is 18 in countries where pornography is fully or partially legalized.

Even countries that set the lower limit of the age of majority under their law at 19-21 years old, with the exception of South Korea, also set the definition for children and adolescents under relevant sexual abuse laws at under 18 years old. For example, in United Arab Emirates, although the lower limit of age of majority under the law is 21 years, the Federal Law on Child Rights Law (Wadeema) defines a child as anyone under 18 years of age, and this law also addresses sexual abuse of children and adolescents.^[31] Additionally, the United Arab Emirates defines child sexual abuse material (also known as child pornography) as "anything featuring a person under the age of 18".^[32] Even in Thailand, where the age of majority is set at 20 years or older, child pornography is defined as featuring persons under the age of 18.^[33]

However, in South Korea, children and adolescents are defined as those under the age of 19 (international age) under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses. (아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률) Also, unlike other countries, South Korea defines child sexual abuse material (아동·청소년 성착취물, the expression used in South Korea to refer to child pornography) as "featuring of someone under the age of 19 (international age)". Therefore, in South Korea, pornography featuring an 18-year-old person (including high school graduates) is classified as child pornography, even making possession and viewing illegal, unlike other countries.^[34]

Actually, in South Korea, pornography featuring only adults is illegal only in distribution and production for distribution purposes, but possession and viewing are not illegal. (except in cases where the subject does not consent)^[35][36][37]

In South Korea, the definition of sexual crimes committed through creepshots or secret filming by the law is broader than in other countries.

• United States customary units – It is a sub-measurement system of the Imperial and US customary measurement systems. It is used only the United States in the entire world. Other countries that use English units of measurement, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, use a mixed metric system. However, the metric system is not used at all in the United States, except NASA.

There are many associated issues with the inability to compete on the international export market. In order to revive the parts of the Japanese economy that have suffered from the "Galápagosization", affected businesses had to find the reasons responsible for the development.

The Galápagosization of Japan continues. According to a survey released today, a shocking two-thirds of the country’s white-collar workers said they didn’t want to work abroad ... ever.^[38]

Furthermore, this has led a number of Japanese companies to adapt their business strategies. Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of e-commerce company Rakuten, sees the exclusive use of Japanese in workplaces at the centre of the problem. Following his belief that "a language will open your eyes to the 'global', and you will break free from this conventional wisdom of a pure Japan",^[39] the co-founder and CEO of Rakuten made English the main language to be spoken in the company. Gerhard Fasol, the only European member of Euro Technology Japan's "Galapagos study group", stated that another reason for the non-success of some innovative Japanese products is Europe's conservative standpoint when it comes to certain standards.^[40] In the belief that it will improve international competitiveness Tadashi Yanai, the founder and president of Fast Retailing, has decided to change the way the firm works against classical Japanese business methods. A shift of the production of some textiles out of Japan to Southeast Asia was a move to the low-wage-labour market, that aimed to enable them to compete on price in the international textile market.^[41] Another factor which McKinsey & Company points out is the need for Japanese companies to adapt to stronger competition when entering global markets. This should be done by accepting to think in "new and unfamiliar ways about organization, marketing, and strategy", whilst the traditional practices that helped the companies to become a big player in the Japanese market shall be discontinued.^[42] Despite the fact that companies have started to address the issue, which could have a link to the total value of exports increasing over the past five years, there are^[when?] concerns about the future Galápagosization of Japan.^[43]

With the ageing and shrinking Japanese population, the fact that fewer and fewer students study abroad to acquire a more internationally oriented university education is reason for concerns over the future of the Japanese economy. Furthermore, there is a conception that the younger generation could enhance the Galápagos effect due to a lack of interest in international education and work placements.^[44] Kiyoshi Takeuchi, sociology professor at the Sophia university, describes the young generation to have less "ambition and motivation" as a result from the fear that a wrong move could have negative effects.^[45]

• Stephen Ezell and Robert D. Atkinson describe a similar phenomenon pointing out associated threats this could mean for the Chinese economy. The selling of a product in China could become more expensive for foreign producers due to the fact that they now have to incorporate the Chinese technology standards into their firm. In theory, this could be beneficial for domestic producers. However, this could also lead to an isolation of the respective domestic producers due to less international competitiveness. "China has made the development of indigenous technology standards ... a core component of its industrial development strategy. ... But, by using indigenous rather than global technology standards for ICT products, China risks engendering a 'Galapagos Island' effect that isolates Chinese ICT products, technologies, and markets."^[46][47]

• Mark Leonard describes threats of how, against the predictions he made in 2005 in his book Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century, the political development of the European Union happened isolated and differently than in any other political system in the world. "Europe might now be facing its own 'Galápagos moment.' ... It may be that Europe’s postmodern order has become so advanced and particular to its environment that it is impossible for others to follow. It evolved in a protective ecosystem, shielded from the more muscular, "modern" world where most people live."^[48]

• The United States was slow to adopt the EMV standard for credit and debit cards (as opposed to swiped magnetic stripe cards), which have been widely-adopted elsewhere, with merchants citing the cost of upgrading hardware and other systems to support it. Work to encourage transition began in 2015 following a series of high-profile retail data breaches involving credit card data, as well as increased frustration by travelers who found themselves increasingly inconvenienced when travelling abroad where they have phased out the magnetic stripe or where automated kiosks abroad would not accept non-EMV chipped cards. Payment providers implemented deadlines under which liability for fraud would shift to merchants if they did not begin accepting EMV payments by a specific date. As of April 2016, 70% of U.S. consumers had EMV cards, and around half of merchants were EMV compliant as of December 2016. However, the rollout has faced challenges, including merchants with EMV-compatible hardware that do not support EMV transactions due to a lack of certification or software support, and complaints that chip-based transactions took more time to process than swipe cards.^{[49][50][51][52]}
• According to a March 2008 Financial Times article, American-made cars suffered from the Galapagos syndrome, as they evolved separately from those of the global marketplace.^[53]

• Big in Japan (phrase)
• Commoditization
• Exceptionalism
• In-group favouritism
• Invented here
• Island syndrome
• Not invented here
• World famous in New Zealand

• "Slowing Japan's Galapagos Syndrome" article from The Huffington Post.
• Japan's Under-used Economic Engine – The Internet?