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A friend in South America uses his kindle for Japanese and Spanish manga. For whatever that is worth.
I do not understand why anyone would want to do anything with a mobile phone other than make telephone calls and maybe text. But I am an 'old' man. I prefer a hammer to hammer, a saw to saw and a typewriter to type. Although the concept of having a 'do everything device' is appealing, in my experience this means huge compromises in functionality. For example, just yesterday I asked a salesman whether he had any telephones that provided camera/video functions as good as a dedicated camera/camcorder. Nothing close.
The only advantage to multiple-function devices, and a significant one, is portability. But, I presume because of marketability/profitability devices are not made that do them all well. For example, I am shopping for a very portable camera that has maximum optical zoom, waterproofness, image quality, and simplicity of buttons/functions. Such glorious features do not exist in a camera, and if they did it would cost $1200 instead of under $400. An additional problem is that if such a wonderful camera did exist (at essential a 'price doesn't matter' price) because it would be portable, I would lose it!
I concur with the gentleman in Sapporo (where I worked for a summer) - the Japanese are voracious readers. This may in part be because a large percentage of the population has a college or university degree, no? This literateness absolutely does not translate into English conversation however.
I have travelled all over Asia and Japan is the only nation where I felt I was not on the planet earth, that I was totally apart, something to be analyzed, and viewed and understood maybe, but rarely interacted with emotionally/socially like people do in China, Thailand, Cuba or England. The inscrutable/distant Asian is not so much an Asian thing as a Japanese thing. Despite almost every middle class person being able to read the classics of English literature, few would risk making a mistake in pronunciation in having a casual conversation. Japan was thus the most bizarre nation I have ever visited on the planet. It makes China or Bangladesh look easy. I would not dream of trying to do business in Japan.
BTW, Japan in the 80's had, except for a few easy-to-underestand and follow limitations (no pubic hair, no inner labia, penetration had to be blocked out), sexually explicit and uncensored nude photography and cartoons. You like comic books of raped children? Transvestites in bondage? Octopuses exploring orifices? No problem. The (to me) bizarre combination of sex and violence or youth seemed to be the focus of the Japanese erotic aesthetic. And regarding nudity, the most niche market coffee table books had sections in classy bookstores and porno ones too truly pushed the envelope in 'adult' ones. Japanese and European erotic photographers sold tons of books to the Japanese market. Whatever one's imagination could concoct was sold openly, sometimes literally at corner store news stands. Police had more important things to do (like going after real rapists) than controlling fantasy. Images were viewed as private matter. Then under US pressure that all changed in the nineties. The world's most pure supply and demand market in art and porn was destroyed by foreign influence. Now, politically correct cartoons are prosecuted because they offend sensibilities. My argument is an laissez faire economic one - if you don't like it, don't buy it. If the book has no value there will be no buyers. If no one is hurt how is it anybody's else's concern? If no fraud/theft/coercion is involved and a price is negotiated between buyer an seller for private use, it is none of your or my business (literally). Or mine.
But, according to my observation the world is going backwards in personal freedoms. I measure almost everything to what was possible in 1973 to 1981. It depresses me!
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