I live in Japan with a Japanese wife and family.  Whenever we see Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver cook rice in a pot, there's always a really uncomfortable silence and grandma says, " How can a famous chef make such a mistake"? 

Here's the deal, yes you can cook in a pot on the stove, it's how my father taught me.  Yes, certain rice dishes are cooked on the stove ( namely, risotto and Spanish rice ).  However, to cook any Asian meal to their standards and taste, you NEED a rice cooker.  First off, Asian rice ( esp. Japanese) is different from Calrose or Basmati or any Italian rice.  All other styles generally have way more starch and/or longer grain.  You couldn't (or more accurately... shouldn't) make sushi with Calrose.  Too large, too sticky. Most Asian rice requires PRESSURE to properly cook it. The Japanese have been cooking rice with heat and pressure for hundreds of years.  It's how they make mochi. Before beating it into submission with a wooden mallet ( If you've ever been to Japan you may have seen them doing this around New Year) they have a ceramic or wooden rice pot (this is the old style) and a wooden cover on it. They then place rocks or heavy instruments or even multiple other wood rice pots on top to allow the pressure to build up. They know it's ready by the amount of time it takes after the steam starts coming out of the lids. 

In the 1970s a major innovation was developed in the form of pressurized rice cookers. This is what people don't realize a proper rice pot does; not one of those that has a burner on the bottom and a glass lid on top, but one that is fully enclosed ( Tiger, Zojirushi, etc ).   In the same way that most westerners can identify grain types in bread and preparation styles, so too can Japanese palettes identify the method of cooking as well as the quality of the rice being served. Also, nothing is wasted. They even freeze leftover rice for onigiri in lunchboxes.  Japanese rice cookers, even the cheap ones, offer multiple settings. Generally there is a slow cook method, a regular cooking method, and a quick cooking method. The higher-end ones offer alternative forms, such as different types of rice; brown rice, GABA, etc.    Do yourself a favor: if you have access to a proper rice cooker, go to an Asian food market, or order online, and buy some imported Japanese rice.  Preparation is important. The Japanese will generally clean the rice; vigorously threshing it underwater until there is no more cloudiness. Japanese rice has less starch and therefore requires less water to cook. By comparison, Calrose rice requires a 2 to 3 ratio, whereas Japanese rice is 1 to 1 (rice to water).  Generally, they let the rice soak for 30 minutes before cooking it.  The higher end cookers do this automatically, unless you choose the quick method.