Pirates

[mandrill]

I lived in Thailand where I was spoiled by the availability of cheap software.
Now I'm in China, amazed every day as I see the thousands of DVDs that can be had for under $1(u.s.). Japan's my next move.
I'm wondering if I should pick up a few hundred more DVDs to take with me, or if perhaps I'll find the same situation in my new home.
(Shikoku - if that makes any difference)
What's available in Japan?
Pirated software, cheap DVDs, CD bootlegs?
Anything else that may be interesting?

[Spaztick]

Not really, you're not going to find ANY pirated software in Japan (the government is realy strict about that), and electronics are expensive compared to the US (like $70 for a PS2 game). You can, however, rent stuff and burn it yourself (but if you do - which I don't suggest doing - don't get caught or you will be fined and/or booted out of the country).

http://www.riaj.or.jp/e/information/faq/#question11

[lomagu]

Hey mandrill, just out of curiosity, what were you doing in Thailand & China? I'm asking because I want to work in one of those countries (or elsewhere). Right now I'm teaching English in Japan & I want to visit another place when I'm finished. Like Spaztick said, there's no pirated stuff here & everything is expensive, so stock up!

[muxec]

Countries that produce IT products fight with piracy, Almost all of the other countries (the whole world except for USA Japan and maybe several European countries) support piracy at least unofficially as no country want the money to flow out of the country and most of the software used produced in USA and Japan.

[dballred]

mandrill wrote:
I lived in Thailand where I was spoiled by the availability of cheap software.
Now I'm in China, amazed every day as I see the thousands of DVDs that can be had for under $1(u.s.). Japan's my next move.
I'm wondering if I should pick up a few hundred more DVDs to take with me, or if perhaps I'll find the same situation in my new home.
(Shikoku - if that makes any difference)
What's available in Japan?
Pirated software, cheap DVDs, CD bootlegs?
Anything else that may be interesting?

I wouldn't advise bringing pirated DVDs into Japan if you are coming from a country like Thailand. There is a good chance your luggage will be inspected and pirated copies WILL be confiscated. Japanese authorities do not tolerate copyright infringement.

That spoken, you can find pirated DVDs in the country (street vendors in Tokyo do it all the time), but the price is usually more than a legal copy out of SE Asia (typically 1500 Yen, around $15 US). The high price is due to the risk they are taking. In one recent case, the vendor was imprisoned.

[Christian_]

that sucks, hey put them in a cd case with a cd player on when you walk out or in ur pants maybe thatll work