Sure, I can still buy songs via the U.S. store because I still have my U.S.-based credit card with the billing sent to my folks’ house back home. And for me, that’ll do fine, because the Japanese store will likely be more expensive. Nevertheless, a lot of people here (such as my students, who would love such a chance to buy their music that way) don’t have that resource, and so would depend on a Japan-based resource. Right now, there aren’t many good alternatives; Sony Music Direct charges $2 per song or more. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Apple plans to launch the Japan iTunes store “this spring,” but there’s no sign of it happening soon. The expected date was March, but that’s come and gone. More recently, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that Apple is “poised” to enter talks with music companies here, and may have the store online by the end of the year.

Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway just got theirs, added to Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Japan is the second biggest music market in the world after the U.S., but it is still stuck way back in the 80’s in that it is high-priced and more than a bit protectionist. Apple is being shut out while ten domestic online services sell music here, up to $3 per song. Music CDs still cost an arm and a leg here, and reports are that to sell CDs here for the ridiculous price of $30 a pop, special tracks withheld in the U.S. and elsewhere are added here to make the local versions more attractive. Bands are asked to record these tracks just for the Japanese market, which helps to discourage cheaper imports–so I hear.

When the iTunes Music Store finally does break through, it will likely not be for the 99 cents we pay in the U.S. But the question is, how much will it be, and when will it be allowed in? You know Apple has to be chomping at the bit to open up the online store here (any claims of “they aren’t trying” will fall flat), and in addition to their reputation in the U.S., Apple has a killer interface with iTunes and a popular delivery system with the iPod–which may be why they’re being locked out. Despite lagging sales, Japanese music labels don’t want to surrender the astronomical prices, and complain that Apple’s digital rights management (DRM) is insufficient–Japanese online stores all have heavy copy protection that does not allow burning onto a CD at all.

In the meantime, I’ll just recommend to my students that they get a U.S. credit card and find a friend there whose address they can use for billing, until they finish up school here and move to the U.S.