Back in the 70' or 80' a guy wrote an interesting article about how the Japanese market had much higher prices for identical items that were exported, and had cutting edge devices (like handy-cams with burnable CD-ROMS) that never seemed to be sold outside Japan.
He investigated and found that the Japanese electronic companies often sold new devices only in Japan for a year or so as a 'test market'. If it does not sell well in Akihabara - it does not ship overseas. If it does well in the first year, any defects or problems are fixed and manufacturing ramps up for export.
His other finding - the Japanese government organizes product development to a huge degree. You basically have to obtain a license to develop a new product. If Sony and Pioneer already have licenses to develop Plasma televisions - you cannot. This prevents too many Japanese companies from developing competing products and letting the market (or the marketing) decide who wins. But it is very efficient.
http://www.happyjappy.com/tokyo/akih...nics_town.html