Internet speed is relevant, but it means shit if your ping is sky high.
My Internet has more tolerable ping than Time Warner, despite being DSL and slower...which is why Pig and I were able to connect so well and he was shocked to find out what I was on.
Having a good internet speed is good, but it's not 100% necessary.
BTW Pig not all Japan net is that bad. In actuality, it's actually at least twice as good as the US in terms of average speed. Fiber optics in Japan is a good deal less expensive and more available. Just places like military bases and schools are shitty in terms of what they have.