>If you want text labels and you're trying to sell the same washing machine in Japan and Germany, you've just given the user interface designer the challenge of writing labels where there's a 10x difference in the average length of the symbol.
No one sells the same washing machines in Japan and Germany. In Japan, the washing machines are made only for the Japanese market, not for export (some are imported from China, but these too are specifically made for the Japanese market, and are very different from machines sold elsewhere).
The cheaper machines have all text labels, and a lot of buttons, all in Japanese. The fancy machines like mine have touchscreens, with an enormous number of different settings and functions, and again it's all in Japanese with no ability to change languages, there there are also some icons along with the text, but not enough to use the machine without reading Japanese.
No one sells the same washing machines in Japan and Germany. In Japan, the washing machines are made only for the Japanese market, not for export (some are imported from China, but these too are specifically made for the Japanese market, and are very different from machines sold elsewhere).
The cheaper machines have all text labels, and a lot of buttons, all in Japanese. The fancy machines like mine have touchscreens, with an enormous number of different settings and functions, and again it's all in Japanese with no ability to change languages, there there are also some icons along with the text, but not enough to use the machine without reading Japanese.