Darwin encountered in the Galápagos Islands isolated flora and fauna, which had undergone evolutionary changes independently from the mainland.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[15] 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.
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.
[19] 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.