To add on to this: I think they are mostly intended as an "emergency backup" for people who usually hang dry their clothes outside to use when it's raining, etc. If you're not using it as your primary drying method maybe it's not so bad? Having more than one shower probably helps too. Unfortunately I am not blessed with such a large space, and my balcony is pitifully small :)
I thought they were mostly for drying out the actual bathroom, because Japan is an island, and it can get quite humid at least towards the southern parts (which may lead to mold issues). The warm air is also comfortable as a side effect.
Is it common to hang laundry outside in Japan even in cities? The USA has made hanging laundry a no-no across most of the country, for aesthetic reasons I guess. It's very common in Europe, though.
I've never seen a dryer in Japan except at laundromats and the dorm. If you live in an amazing high rise in Tokyo without a balcony you'll have the fancy in bathroom hot air system. If you live in a crappy place without a balcony (which actually is kinda rare), you'll still have a pole to hang your clothes out the window.
My first time staying there I was told regulations make dryers take so long that it just isn't worth the electricity cost. The one time I used the dryer in Japan, my clothes were just a warm damp after two cycles.
I have used dryers in multiple location in Japan with primarily good experience. Coin laundry clothes drying machine: exceedingly powerful, no issues except for cost and convenience. Dryers in hotels: small capacity (7-9 kg), 30 minute cycle usually complete in 45 minutes of drying. Bad experience with washer dryer combo, could be programmed to wash and then dry clothing however the installers did not attach vent hose so it would fill the apartment with hot air and lint.
I have also used shower dryers. Very pleasant. Controls are outside the shower and the shower was separate from the toilet. I didn't note any issues with lint, however, I had weekly cleaning service that was probably dealing with it.
I've also lived in Japan without a dryer at all. Hanging clothes on the balcony to dry or inside when it's raining. It seems to me that clothes last a lot longer when they're air dried.
Combo washer/dryers are pretty common, especially among families. Our Panasonic works great, electricity cost is negligible. It's a heat-pump model, so it quite efficient and doesn't need venting.
I'll never understand this "aesthetic" argument. Are those cities really so pretty to avoid using something that naturally comes to mind? Sun, warm, makes things dry, just use it.
Seeing multicoloured underpants and bedsheets fluttering in the streets is not an impressive or edifying sight for the clothing owner or for the unfortunate observer. Lack of privacy is dehumanizing.
I think the device is partly for drying the bathroom to reduce mold, and partly for condo owner to justify the no-no clause. Washer-dryer combo units are not more outrageous than MacBooks.
