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I've lived and traveled in Japan for the past 20+ years, and never ONCE seen anyone else using a dedicated e-reader. When I tried to purchase a Sony 505 two years ago from Amazon, that company could not ship Sony's to Japan because of licensing between Sony-Japan and Sony-USA. Fortunately, B&H Video deals with Sony-Canada, and they ARE permitted to ship to Japan, so I was able to get my reader.
I have never had a Japanese ask me about my e-reader as we sit side-by-side in coffee shops reading and chatting. There is seemingly no interest in them what so ever. I've had them come up to me and ask about my motorcycle. Or ask me about my home country. Or do I like sushi. But not one question about my e-reader.
The Japanese are voracious readers, and as Canuck said, the isles of bookstores are always jammed with people browsing. There are huge bookstores everywhere you look, the sort that take up two floors or five... or large single-floor places. These, besides the little back-street book stores.
No question about their love of reading, but at the same time, there is a love of pocket-sized gadgets, so the mobile phone became their reader-of-choice. On the trains and buses, most working Japanese must make a daily 60-120 minute commute, and they do so with their eyes glued to their mobile phones. I've taken some photos showing virtually every person on one side of a rail car with a phone in front of their face! Every one! And 3/4 of them also had wires running up to their ears, but that's another thread.
The manga business is suffering because of mobile phones, not because of e-readers. The manga racks in convenience stores have reduced in size over the past 10 years. As Lefty said, if an e-reader came out that could comfortable deal with manga, it would be a huge success.
Stitchawl
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