Marginally better, in that 7-11 takes them. Last time I was there post offices and Citibank took them as well.

Any idea why it is so difficult to use a foreign card in an advanced country like Japan? Xenophobia? Hatred of foreigners? It certainly feels like someone putting out the unwelcome mat, particularly in light of the fact that foreign cards are accepted in every ATM in many countries which are far, far, behind Japan technologically and in terms of wealth.

Let's put it this way - if US banks did not take foreign ATM cards, people on Flyertalk would be screaming about how America is so provincial, stupid, evil, etc.