I was there a few weeks ago and cash-only places were still very common, I'd say at least 10x as common as Germany at the end of COVID. (Though granted, some places might only take EC-Karte)

We were hitting cash only places all the time there, whereas in Germany I found that cash only became rare during the pandemic.

Hell, even recharging the IC cards in Japan had to be done using cash at a machine. Why can't you use a debit card? Who knows.