I think it is not just Japan, others in usa and europe have said the same thing too. I really don't understand their thinking. As if they want this to just be a word-of-mouth product.
That or they just clueless about advertising in modern internet hype-filled world.
It is ironic that the first campaign they had in the yester-yesterday's launch of japan ebook store was 'The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs'
OOT: yamada denki is one of the biggest? I never knew that!