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2nd hand electronics sales will soon be illegal in Japan

akihabaranews.com — The Japanese Government will put in action in April 2006 a law, which forbid the sales of all electronics goods (TV, PC, Video Games...) manufactured before 2001. The Japanese Official Document is not really clear but it may also affect all electronics good older than 5 years.

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  • DeckardRep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I thought second hand video game sale were already illegal in Japan. At least, I remember reading something along those lines in the 90's...
  • szelij, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't think it'd happen. They won't ban the sale outright. You have to remember consumer sentiment and rationality. They can get away with car inspections on the pretext of road safety but to do away with second hand sales is just asking for voters to kick you out of office.

    No sane politician would endorse a blanket ban with explicit language.
  • worufu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2How many sane politicians are there nowadays anyway? They are getting all away with limiting and reducing our rights. All in the name of terrorism or some other reason they like to quote. I can show you many examples within the nearest past.
    And then it is Japan where not everything (probably nothing) is the same like outside Japan. Probably our "sane" politicians would not do it...
  • anonymoustroll, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It's just another rule that will be ignored... there's a lot of those in Japan (which is not nearly as "conformist" as people are told).
  • Ebenonce, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0When it says before it means when it says after it means before.

    I'm not sure why this is but after carefully reading this it's talking about products in the last five years being illegal, not the otehr way around.
  • supersteve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow that sucks
  • ogletree, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Most electronics from 2001 are junk anyhow.
  • Ghazi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Corporate greediness taken to a whole new level
  • DarkZen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@worufu Well said...

    This just seems pointless, why would they do something like that? Don't they know that some people like to blow their money on older equipment? Its not like old electronics are evil or anything, not to mention wouldn't this effect the economy in some way? (And not a good one...)
  • SPNKrPunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Attention Americans: It could be ***** worse (see article).

    "Most electronics from 2001 are junk anyhow."
    I have a Minolta Maxxum 7000 from 1985; still takes good pictures. Not all pre-2001 tech is useless, especially in terms of cars.
  • letmereplynow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Well, look at this way, Japan will continue leading the world in terms of electronics. I wish the USA was as Tech savvy.
  • I8PP, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Well I don't know about you lot, but if this law passes I'm sneaking over to Japan to rumage through some bins.
  • SniperGX1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0thats FUBAR but what else could you expect from the country that brought us the Sony Rootkit.
  • stealthboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Oh, the RIAA and MPAA would just *love* to have something like that here. They way when they lobby to get DRM tech in everything, they don't have to worry about people still buying old equipment to get around their DRM restrictions.
  • matt4077, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't really trust this report. This seems totally against anything what a free society is about. The only reason I could see would be changes in radio frequencies forcing government to forbid sales of equipment that operates in an old spectrum and could cause interference.

  • GreenSlabOfClay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Actually, the thinking may be to shorten the life of older equipment so they can pedle more new equipment. A small, but growing market of people probably are satisfied with older technology.
    Which, in a technological singularity, can lead to a break down in conventional market models.

    Case in point:
    I bought a PowerMac 9600 for my Asterisk server.
    Cost $26
    Don't need no fancy Nortel, Cisco or Dell Server.

    On the converse, don't they have a restriction on exporting new technology so that old inventory has a chance to sell?

  • Satanstorm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Do they have any electronics over there that are not game related? (which is probably 95% of their stuff) - If so, I hope they sell them on eBay.
  • cemsity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@ Lemereplynow
    the reason why people in USA arn't tech savy is because they think they don't need it. it was like this for tivo with my parents they thought we did not need it but when we got it they LOVE it.
  • letmereplynow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@cemsity

    I know that too and to be honest for the most part people aren't smart enough to use something more complex than a dvd player efficiently. Then another issue is the current pop culture and it emphasis on money….ill stop here because I could go on all day about what I think is wrong with society.

    This stems to another issue that is wrong with Windows computers, if everyone's' windows computer that is sold came locked down(limited rights/permissions). We wouldn't have half the computers problems we have now, it's not like teach how to properly work a computer in school at all(they should) because at least the next generation would be prepared...sorry im done ranting lol.
  • Mantarii, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0BEST QUOTE: "...security reasons on anything electronical."
  • Joab, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It paves the way for corporations/governments to have electronic monitoring chips installed in your electronics. You create the technology now but don't use it, then in 5 years the way is paved for them to just turn it on. Totally defeats one of the biggest cons of such technology - COST. People are more easily apt to give up their rights if it doesn't cost them anything material.
  • databasecowboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Dumpster Diving in Japan has been a lifelong dream of mine ever since I heard most Japanese throw out their old stuff anyways due to space limitations.

    Now it looks like the pot will be that much sweeter!

  • Stopher, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The car thing is insane. A 10 year old car is effectively taxed 3500 EUR / year. Talk about throwing the environment out the window.
  • xLiKx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0hey, let's be positive, maybe we'll see a lot of deals for japanese electronic junk on ebay or yahoo japan auctions after the deadline.
  • machine82, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Thank god I live in the United States.
  • Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1>> Well, look at this way, Japan will continue leading the world
    >> in terms of electronics. I wish the USA was as Tech savvy.
    >>

    No, Japan will continue to take technology created by other countries and figure out how to cram it into a smaller housing. That's what they do, and they're good at it.
  • HeyArnold, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Japanese junk from 2001... = New to the US market in 2006 :p
  • DadOFeD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Did Ya notice it starts on April 1st. April fools.....
  • anamanaman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I guess thats one way to boost GDP. For some reason I dont think it'll work though....
  • MrAndrews, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0szelij: "but to do away with second hand sales is just asking for voters to kick you out of office."

    If they passed a law in Japan that said every person in the country had to cut off their right index finger and mail it in to the government, it STILL wouldn't make the voters to kick anyone out of office. Japan is a country of staggering political apathy.
  • ajamer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0More likely than being tossed, the equipement will be sold to nearby Asian countries for cheap.

    I remember in Singapore that they don't allow taxis on the road that are more than 4 years old. The old ones all get sold to Thailand.
  • GRIMREAPER187, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1this is me CLAPPING!!! great way to increase the worlds crap in a land fill and make profit im gonna reserve the top of that sterero heap to live on
  • Onetrack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0ha.. You can't sell it to your friend unless you send it back to the factory to get refurbished I bet.. Like Foamy says ' wow, i just paid 6000 yen for a certified pre-owned playstation!." Instead of " I'm not paying 6000 yen for a playstation, its *&%$#;n used! "

    Foamy is my god.
  • cvirt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Big deal! It's not going to affect anything is my guess. If the government really tries to enforce anything, used dealers will just institute something like how the pachislo parlours get around anti-gambling laws. You buy a token, and then exchange the token for whatever it is you want. This article is complete crap since it doesn't reference anything in english or japanese saying what exactly the law states or when it comes into effect (i saw another website where it was said the law went into effect 3 years ago). And just to add, i heard the law was coming into effect because of regulations governing lead based (soldered) items.

    c
  • patmfitz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0They don't seem to realize that a strong used goods market can actually help the new market. Look at cars - would you be willing to pay thirty thousand dollars on a new car if you didn't know you could sell it for fifteen grand later on?

    Also, the extra money spent on new goods doesn't just appear out of thin air - when someone buys a used item at lower cost, they spend the saved money on other goods an services. By forcing them to waste their money on higher priced new goods, that's just less sushi/books/games that will be sold. So at best you are taking money from the sush/book/game makers and giving it to the electronics manufacturers instead.

    -fitz / should have been an economist
  • AngryWookiee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. Why in the hell would any sane person let the government pass a law like this. This just plain stupid.

    The government should not be able to pass a law that would make selling second hand goods illegal. Some people can't afford the latest and greatest products and have to buy used goods. What the hell do they expect people to do with all their old electronics? Just throw them in the garbage even though they are perfectly fine, when you could possibly sell them and make some money of them?

    Although I can see how they might get away the used car thing for safety, etc. this is just plain stupid. Don't people in Japan buy used cars? Don't people make a living selling used cars. This is retarded.
  • greenemeansgo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This may be an attempt to eliminate analog devices - it's happening in the US too. Makers want all digital ins/outs so you can't circumvent DRM.
  • AshMCairo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0OK. Where is this official document? Also, did anyone else notice that the day they're set to enforce this is April Fool's Day?
  • tazamore, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Readers gullible,
    Wind passes through empty heads,
    Link is *****.
  • ironbear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Actually, there's an interesting export market of used Japanese vehicles which resulted as the result of the tight vehicular laws. Perhaps we'll be seeing more of their old electronics on eBay.
  • cprincipe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'm surprised US automakers have not bribed ...... err "convinced" our legislators to embrace this draconian inspection policy. Do we have a corporate shill gap with the Japanese?
  • pgm_01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I call BS on this article. Considering that Japan will be importing electronic waste for recycling. http://www.crisscross.com/jp/news/364814
  • LordJezo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The link is not telling the whole story:

    http://www.mutantfrog.com/2006/02/22/2nd-hand-electronics-sales-will-not-soon-be-illegal-in-japan/

    Don't worry about anything.
  • cathode, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I feel for the small shops in Akihabara
  • Squeebee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Bah, this affects nothing. Having lived in Japan I can tell you that most people throw out perfectly good used electronics after 5 years anyway, they even have a special garbage day once a month for larger items. I have grabbed washing machines, stereos, DVD players, and even year-old cellphones (new in box). The used electronics market is tiny and there are relatively few used shops compared to North America.

    While it is a silly law, it only puts into law what most people already do: throw away old electronics.

    No need to dumpster dive, once a month they put it on the curb for you.
  • elfhat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Seems very wasteful. Landfills are already filled with huge amounts of technological trash due to the rapid increase in technology, I can't imagine what they'd begin to look like if people just threw all of their old stuff away.This whole idea seems bad on many levels, not just an economic one.
  • wilf_brim, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Man, I thought the government ***** over the consumer in the US. We have it good here. I don't buy (or sell) too much used stuff, but I can see why folks both buy and sell.

    On a list serve I am on a guy said that instead of buying a new personal laser printer he bought a refurbed office grade HP (about $100). It had better performance than the new personal, and lots of repair parts still available.
  • caseysousa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0is it just me, or is this article not in english? wtf?
  • DisposableRob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"the reason why people in USA arn't tech savy is because they think they don't need it. it was like this for tivo with my parents they thought we did not need it but when we got it they LOVE it. "

    Think about that for a second. Does anyone NEED a Tivo? Need and want are very seperate things.
  • acontorer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There is no source cited in this article, and on a quick Google search I was unable to find another article (in English) confirming this. I wonder if it's true.
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