JAPAN: Illegalization of Old Electronics (that includes your favorite enlargers!)

gnashings said:

Perhaps my English is failing me, but upon reading and re-reading all the posts... I fail to find any comments calling the Japanese laws ridiculous. I think most people here are clearly intelligent enough to notice the necessary differences in approach to legislation on a chain of islands with over 125 million people on them, and a continent like North America with its comperatively sparse population. No one is calling them ridiculous. I just attempted to present a possible impact on people in Norht America - mainly because I don't claim to know the first thing about the socio-economic reality of living in Japan.
I am glad that firecracker pointed out a few things to me - it was somewhat narrowminded of me to forget about the impact it would have on the various relationships in Japan itself (like the example of Fuji and the school system or hospital beds).
I find the liberal flinging of implications of xenophobic tendencies and the childish comments to the effect of "well, its your laws that make no sense" was in poor taste and uncalled for to say the least - not to mention the obvious insecurities it exposes about the person making them, especially when combined with the air of superiority with which they are expressed...

Peter.

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I don't know what you are trying to say but you are missing the point. And your earlier post was underestimating the significance of this new law, which both firecracker and I called ridiculous (and at least 35000 people said so in a very short period of time after this issue was reported in mass media).

By the way, the post you are attacking was written for firecracker and not you. If you want to start your own argument, please do that in a separate thread. And please don't distort what I said.

gnashings said:

Perhaps my English is failing me, but upon reading and re-reading all the posts... I fail to find any comments calling the Japanese laws ridiculous. I think most people here are clearly intelligent enough to notice the necessary differences in approach to legislation on a chain of islands with over 125 million people on them, and a continent like North America with its comperatively sparse population. No one is calling them ridiculous. I just attempted to present a possible impact on people in Norht America - mainly because I don't claim to know the first thing about the socio-economic reality of living in Japan.
I am glad that firecracker pointed out a few things to me - it was somewhat narrowminded of me to forget about the impact it would have on the various relationships in Japan itself (like the example of Fuji and the school system or hospital beds).
I find the liberal flinging of implications of xenophobic tendencies and the childish comments to the effect of "well, its your laws that make no sense" was in poor taste and uncalled for to say the least - not to mention the obvious insecurities it exposes about the person making them, especially when combined with the air of superiority with which they are expressed...

Peter.

Click to expand...

Peter, don't worry about it. You're fine. You gotta have a sense of humor. It's acutally part of my fault of not providing enough background information of what's going on over here, but I think that's a secondary issue anyway. But I agree ebay sites all round the world may become hotter than ever.

What I keep reading in some of the Japanese websites where the people in Japan are expressing their concerns over this issue is that they despise the new law, but they don't know how to appeach to prevent it from happening yet. And I hear the same thing when I talk to people around me.

It's sort of like seeing the polls for the public opinions in various countries before the invasion of Iraq a few years back, when the number for the opposition was really high especially in Europe. I mean, it's just that, but what went on was... that's still going on.

So, I feel like I have to do what I have to do. I call stupid laws and legislations stupid and/or ridiculous as long as I live in the culture that is being affected by them. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you deal with them. What about the wheale-hunting? It's so global that you cannot nail down which countries the problems originate, you know?

The worst thing you can do is not doing anything for what you really care about and letting it die. Still, no one will be held responsible for the result whatever it may be, but how much do you have to regret for the rest of your life?

It appears that this bill was passed by pretty much all members except the members of the communist party. But at the same time, there is no mention of used equipment falling under the regulation in the legislation or the discussion. It appears to me that the used equipment was quietly added in the later process by METI. This point was lately called to an account by Shiokawa, a member of the communist party. Kawauchi of democratic party is also very active on this issue recently.

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kawauchi-sori/m/200603
(also check the Feb blog)

http://park5.wakwak.com/~rung/mt/archives/cat_00crisis.html

Dead Link Removed

http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_kaigiroku.nsf/html/kaigiroku/001014519990611017.htm#p_honbun

http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/145/0010/14506110010017c.html

http://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/kaigijoho/old_vote/145/145-0802-v003.htm

Ryuji said:

It appears that this bill was passed by pretty much all members except the members of the communist party. But at the same time, there is no mention of used equipment falling under the regulation in the legislation or the discussion. It appears to me that the used equipment was quietly added in the later process by METI. This point was lately called to an account by Shiokawa, a member of the communist party. Kawauchi of democratic party is also very active on this issue recently.

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kawauchi-sori/m/200603
(also check the Feb blog)

http://park5.wakwak.com/~rung/mt/archives/cat_00crisis.html

Dead Link Removed

http://www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb_kaigiroku.nsf/html/kaigiroku/001014519990611017.htm#p_honbun

http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/145/0010/14506110010017c.html

http://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/kaigijoho/old_vote/145/145-0802-v003.htm

Click to expand...

Thanks for the links. That clearly shows that the house doesn't represent the public at all.

firecracker said:

Thanks for the links. That clearly shows that the house doesn't represent the public at all.

Click to expand...

Well, the focus of the bill was elsewhere. They were trying to shift the responsibility of ensuring safety from the government to the industry. In that sense no member was really against it. The communist party is generally against anything that has to do with deregulation (and regulation), so they voted against in 参議院. 衆議院 (and its committee) voted by standing, so there is no official record of who voted against, but I assume all communists remained sat down.

At this point, I think the most effective way to deal with this is to send encouragement and any useful information to Kawauchi of the democratic party (The first link in my previous post) and perhaps Shiokawa of the communist party. Generally democratic party members get a lot more time in discussion, but for some reasons most scandals are discovered/exposed by communist members, so you never know. If you know a member of your district, especially if s/he is an LDP member, talk to them. Or encourage people around you to talk to them.

I plan to send a letter to those people as well.

Ryuji said:

Well, the focus of the bill was elsewhere. They were trying to shift the responsibility of ensuring safety from the government to the industry. In that sense no member was really against it. The communist party is generally against anything that has to do with deregulation (and regulation), so they voted against in ???. ??? (and its committee) voted by standing, so there is no official record of who voted against, but I assume all communists remained sat down.

At this point, I think the most effective way to deal with this is to send encouragement and any useful information to Kawauchi of the democratic party (The first link in my previous post) and perhaps Shiokawa of the communist party. Generally democratic party members get a lot more time in discussion, but for some reasons most scandals are discovered/exposed by communist members, so you never know. If you know a member of your district, especially if s/he is an LDP member, talk to them. Or encourage people around you to talk to them.

I plan to send a letter to those people as well.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah, I might have to give hands to those evil geniuses in the political parties.

I wish I could get hold of a group of lawyers who would volunteer for this.

You'll find a very good analysis of this issue in the March 2 weblog below:

http://blog.livedoor.jp/memorylab/

This is also what I felt after reading the minutes of proceedings.

firecracker said:

Thanks. Yeah, I might have to give hands to those evil geniuses in the political parties.

I wish I could get hold of a group of lawyers who would volunteer for this.

Click to expand...

I think the real evil in this issue is METI 官僚 and not politicians. Politicians appear to be ignorant of this issue except those two mentioned of the democratic and communist parties.

You don't need a lawyer for this. They have nothing to do with it. Sufficient details are given in government ordinance and it does not require to change the law to postpone the April 1 enforcement day. This is something METI can do overnight if they get enough pressure from the LDP and the government. You see Kawauchi (Democrat) and Shiokawa (Communist) are working very hard on this, but the fact that no one from LDP is making enough pressure is allowing METI to ignore all sorts of noise in the society. They'll respond to one phone call from a high rank of LDP but they will try to ignore anything coming from anyone else.

Ryuji said:

You don't need a lawyer for this. They have nothing to do with it. Sufficient details are given in government ordinance and it does not require to change the law to postpone the April 1 enforcement day. This is something METI can do overnight if they get enough pressure from the LDP and the government. You see Kawauchi (Democrat) and Shiokawa (Communist) are working very hard on this, but the fact that no one from LDP is making enough pressure is allowing METI to ignore all sorts of noise in the society. They'll respond to one phone call from a high rank of LDP but they will try to ignore anything coming from anyone else.

Click to expand...

I'd like to hope so. But in the recent events of other social issues here, there's never been a successful case in development. The bureaucrats can get away from pretty much anything. So watching those two guys on a TV screen does not give enough hope for anyone, at least not for me.

Lawyers are needed for those small business owners (not me, though) who are trying to pay for the new insurance to continue their businesses. They are already making debts just to be able to continue to sell what they have been selling all those years, and this is because they are not receiving adequate legal advice from anyone at this point. They are not making a choice.

At the same time, besides signing petitions and writing letters, people have to demonstrate to raise the level of the public consciousness, otherwise similar incidents will subsequently happen in the future. I think the music industry is somewhat ahead of the game, but their agenda does not include what the rest of us as a society want and that's clear.

Ryuji said:

You'll find a very good analysis of this issue in the March 2 weblog below:

http://blog.livedoor.jp/memorylab/

This is also what I felt after reading the minutes of proceedings.

Click to expand...

It's true JSPA's agenda was very little to do with the entire issue. That's why I said why not with the photographic community to do also but to cover all agendas for the public. Ultimately it's all connected. To build a darkroom, you need all those electrical appliances to begin with, so this is where I started.

We need to make sure that the photograhic community will be able to sustain itself and stay alert on what may happen in the near future. If we are about to lose the services provided by the professionals because of things like this, we will have to go on to fight against it.

The schedule for today (Sunday 3/5/2006). If you're in Tokyo and Kobe, please go sign the petitions.

http://sound.jp/pse/

And you can start own your own.

http://sound.jp/pse/signature.pdf

These are written in Japanese language only.

Ryuji said:

...By the way, the post you are attacking was written for firecracker and not you. If you want to start your own argument, please do that in a separate thread. And please don't distort what I said.

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By the way, you're in a public forum - if you want to communicate things you don't wish commented on, perhaps this is not the way to do it. Or are you too arrogant to grasp that simple concept?

Ryuji said:

I don't know what you are trying to say but you are missing the point.

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I agree - its apparently beyond you to grasp what I, or anyone other than you is trying to say - but...
If you don't know what I am trying to say - how can you tell I am missing the point? You want me to send you the Cliff's Notes version? Sometimes its easier to see things if you remove your head from where it appears to be firmly planted...

I am done here.

Today is Monday, 6th of March.

Ginichi in Ginza district in Tokyo have not dealt with the enlargers from the brands like Omega and Beseler for a couple of years. They won't do any repair, trade, buy, etc.

Nikken repair service group, doesn't not deal with any darkroom stuff, period.

Nitto-camera in Tokyo is temporally holding off the sales of enlargers due to the new PSE law as it says on its website.

I'll keep posting as I find more.

This Thursday 9th, there'll be a meeting in Tokyo involving Mr. kawauchi of the Democratic Party of Japan. Hundreds of people are expected to show up.

http://sound.jp/pse/0309.html

firecracker said:

Today is Monday, 6th of March.

Ginichi in Ginza district in Tokyo have not dealt with the enlargers from the brands like Omega and Beseler for a couple of years. They won't do any repair, trade, buy, etc.

Nikken repair service group, doesn't not deal with any darkroom stuff, period.

Nitto-camera in Tokyo is temporally holding off the sales of enlargers due to the new PSE law as it says on its website.

I'll keep posting as I find more.

Click to expand...

Fujiya camera in Tokyo, which is I think is like KEH in the U.S. in terms of quality of service, has the notice, too.

http://www.fujiya-camera.co.jp/attention.shtml

But this is the only camera store so far that has a list of photo items being affected.

Here's an article in English.

"The legislation will apply to around 500 kinds of electrical product, and could spell disaster for Japan’s 300,000 second-hand and specialist antique stores who do business worth around £500 million a year.

The trade in everything from antique standard lamps and vintage radios to retro video games and old fridges will either vanish completely, or become prohibitively expensive for the ordinary citizen."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2072754,00.html

http://sound.jp/pse/0319.html

There is a plan for a protest march on this coming Sunday in Tokyo.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/2006/03/18/d20060318000113.html

Today's anti-PSE law protest, about 150 participants marched in Tokyo carrying and waving vanishing electrical gadgets, etc according to the news sorce above.

Because I live pretty far from there, I didn't go to this one. But only 150 people! That's the smallest gathering I've ever heard...

Right, this is no France.

There are at least 300,000 shops that are going to be hit hard by the changes made by the new law, and some of the shops have already gone out of business.

Well, there's another protest scheduled tomorrow as well, and maybe I can join the one(s) on the next weekend.

In the last week or so, there's been some change in this. Since no English-language news media is covering the follow-up, I have to summarize it here.

Now the Japanese government acknowledges "vintage" equipment and is preparing a list of items that will be excused. This includes enlargers and slide projectors.

But obviously it's a big problem when the government officials have to rule the equipment based on their own definition of what's vintage and what is not. And if old equipment is excused, why not newer stuff that is considerably more safe and perhaps less fire-hazardous?

So, this gives more headache, and people are pretty pissed off.

http://www.meti.go.jp/english/information/data/denan_grace050217.html

The following is the "policy information" issued by the Ministry of Trade, and Industry, which I have posted before. The English version has not been updated for some reason and is still missing the statement for the exception of "vintange" equipment.

But what the heck, I'm putting it here once more, so people can see how stupid this law is.


Handling of electrical appliances following the end of the grace period
February 17, 2006
Product Safety Division
Manufacturing Industries Bureau

The period for sales of products with a five-year grace period that are marked with the former lawÅfs mark will come to an end in accordance with the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law.

In 1999, the Electrical Appliance and Material Control Law (former law) was revised to become the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law (current law), which was implemented on April 1, 2001. Products subject to regulation are mandated to be labeled with the new lawÅfs mark (PSE mark).
At the same time, with regard to products covered by the regulations that had already been marked with an indication pursuant to the former law and distributed on the market, it has been deemed acceptable to sell these products or display them for marketing purposes for a limited time period as a temporary measure.
A grace period of varying durations as indicated below has been set in place for sales of the different target products. This is an advance notice that the grace period for those products given a grace period of five years is set to end on March 31, 2006.
Please be reminded that from April 1, 2006, it will no longer be possible to sell, or to display for marketing purposes, those products which fall under the new law and which are not labeled with the new lawÅfs mark.
Marks that could be used
Å@ Old mark New marks Applicable items End of grace period
Specified electric appliances
Electric heated toilet seats, electric storage water heaters, etc. (29 items; subdivided into 32 items) March 31, 2006
Electric pumps, electric massagers, DC power systems (AC adapter), etc. (20 items; subdivided into 36 items) March 31, 2008
Wiring devices, such as earth leakage breakers and sockets, etc. (16 items; subdivided into 42 items) March 31, 2011
Non-specified electric appliances No mark Electric toasters, electric refrigerators, electric washing machines, radios, televisions, video tape recorders, electric musical instruments, audio equipment, electric game machines, etc. (225 items; subdivided into 227 items) March 31, 2006
Electric cooking hot plates, electric air conditioners, electric air cleaners, electric power tools, incandescent lamps, etc. (62 items; subdivided into 65 items) March 31, 2008
Wiring devices, conduits, etc. (13 items; subdivided into 45 items) March 31, 2011
Å@

FAQs

Below is a list of frequently asked questions. In the following Q&As:

* The Ågformer lawÅh refers to the Electrical Appliance and Material Control Law;
* The Ågnew lawÅh refers to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law;
* ÅgElectric productsÅh refers to any products which make use of electricity;
* ÅgElectric appliancesÅh refers to those electric products which fall under the regulations of Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law.

Q1. What kind of law is the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
Q2. What is the grace period of the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
Q3. Are second-hand electric appliances subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
Q4. Does this mean that any sales of second-hand electric products will no longer be possible?
Q5. Are electric appliances sold between individuals subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
Q6. Are electric appliances sold between individuals through internet auction subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
Q7. Is it possible to export electric appliances labeled with the former lawÅfs mark?
Q8. Will the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law apply to renting in the same way it does to selling?
Å@
Q1. What kind of law is the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
A1.
In 1999, the Electrical Appliance and Material Control Law (implemented in 1962) was revised to become the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law, which was implemented on April 1, 2001.
450 electrical appliances are subject to the regulation, with technical standards stipulated for different items. Manufacturers and importers may sell their products upon meeting the requirements mandated by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law, and marking their electrical appliances with the new lawÅfs mark (PSE).
Distributors may not sell electrical appliances which have not been labeled with the new lawÅfs mark.
For details, though available only in Japanese, please refer to the following URL:
(Overview of the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law)
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/seian/denan/outline/hou_outline.htm

Å£FAQs top
Q2. What is the grace period of the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
A2.
Once the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law was implemented on April 1, 2001, the indications with which products had to be marked changed from for Type A electrical appliances and no mark for Type B electrical appliances under the former law to for specified electrical appliances and for non-specified electrical appliances under the new law.
However, a grace period was established for products labeled with the former lawÅfs marks, during which it was possible to sell them. A period of five, seven or ten years has been set in place for each electrical appliance, starting from the day the law was implemented on April 1, 2001.
<The grace period for the selling of electrical appliances labeled with the former lawÅfs mark>

* Electrical appliances with a grace period set at five years could be sold until March 31, 2006.
e.g., electric refrigerators, electric washing machines, television receivers, electric musical instruments, pedestal lighting fixtures, audio equipment, game machines, etc.
* Electric appliances with a grace period set at seven years could be sold until March 31, 2008.
e.g., electric massagers, DC power systems (AC adapter), pedestal lighting fixtures, electric air conditioners, electric power tools, etc.
* Electric appliances with a grace period set at 10 years could be sold until March 31, 2011.
e.g., fluorescent lamp sockets, conduits, etc.
For details, though available only in Japanese, please refer to the following URLs:
(Specified electrical appliances)
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/seian/denan/hourei/denkiyouhin_ichiran/tokutei_denki.htm
(Non-specified electrical appliances)
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/seian/denan/hourei/denkiyouhin_ichiran/tokuteigai_denki.htm
For those electrical appliances whose grace period is set at five years, March 31, 2006 represents the cut-off point. From April 1, 2006, it will no longer be possible for manufacturers, importers and distributors to sell appliances without the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety LawÅfs new marks.

Å£FAQs top
Q3. Are second-hand electrical appliances subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
A3.
Yes. Second-hand electrical appliances are also subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law.

Å£FAQs top
Q4. Does this mean that any sales of second-hand electrical products will no longer be possible?
A4.
No. This does not mean that all sales of second-hand electric appliances will no longer be possible. The Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law does not cover all electrical products. Electrical products which are not specified by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law are exempt from its regulations. Electrical appliances which are specified by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law may be sold as second-hand goods, if they are labeled with the new lawÅfs mark (PSE). In addition, electrical appliances labeled with the former lawÅfs mark may also be sold during the grace period.
<The grace period for the sales of electrical appliances labeled with the former lawÅfs marks>

* Electric appliances with a grace period set at five years could be sold until March 31, 2006.
e.g., electric refrigerators, electric washing machines, television receivers, electric musical instruments, pedestal lighting fixtures, audio equipment, game machines, etc.
* Electric appliances with a grace period set at seven years could be sold until March 31, 2008.
e.g., electric massagers, DC power systems (AC adapter), pedestal lighting fixtures, electric air conditioners, electric power tools, etc.
* Electric appliances with a grace period set at 10 years could be sold until March 31, 2011.
e.g., fluorescent lamp sockets, conduits, etc.

For details, though available only in Japanese, please refer to the following URLs:
(Specified electrical appliances)
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/seian/denan/hourei/denkiyouhin_ichiran/tokuteigai_denki.htm
(Non-specified electrical appliances)
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/seian/denan/hourei/denkiyouhin_ichiran/tokuteigai_denki.htm
Even among the electrical appliances listed above, if the applianceÅ\as in the case of electrical musical instruments, audio equipment, game machines, etc. Å\receives its electric supply through a DC power system (AC adapter) which can be removed from the main body of the appliance, the appliance (for example, game machines) itself is exempt from Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law regulations. (In addition, DC power systems themselves fall under the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law, with a seven-year grace period until March 31, 2008).

Å£FAQs top
Q5. Are electrical appliances sold between individuals subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
A5.
In the case of selling between individuals, this differs depending on whether the item is being sold as part of a business or not.
For example, if an individual, having bought a product for his/her own personal use, sells it because he/she no longer needs it, or for other reasons, the sale will be exempt from the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law.
However, even in the case of an individual, if that person sells a large quantity of products at one time, or repeatedly sells the products on a number of occasions, this will be considered by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law to be Ågdistributing,Åh and will be subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law regulations.

Å£FAQs top
Q6. Are electric appliances sold between individuals through Internet auction subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law?
A6.
In the case of Internet auction likewise, if an individual, having bought a product for his/her own personal use, sells it because he/she no longer needs it, or for other reasons, the sale will be exempt from the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law.
However, even in the case of an individual, if that person sells a large quantity of products at one time, or repeatedly sells the products on a number of occasions, this will be considered by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law to be Ågdistributing,Åh and will be subject to the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law regulations.
In addition, apart from Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law regulations, there are also cases where sales through Internet auction become subject to the Specific Commercial Transactions Law.
For details, though available only in Japanese, please refer to the following URL:
http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/consumer/tokushoho/gaiyou/auctionguideline.pdf

Å£FAQs top
Q7. Is it possible to export electrical appliances labeled with the former lawÅfs mark?
A7.
The requirements of the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law do not need to be met in the case of products to be exported. The laws of the country exported to should be followed.

Å£FAQs top
Q8. Will the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law apply to renting in the same way it does to selling?
A8.
When those electrical appliances that fall under the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law are rented, the law does not apply to them.

Å£FAQs top

firecracker said:

In the last week or so, there's been some change in this. Since no English-language news media is covering the follow-up, I have to summarize it here.

Now the Japanese government acknowledges "vintage" equipment and is preparing a list of items that will be excused. This includes enlargers and slide projectors.

But obviously it's a big problem when the government officials have to rule the equipment based on their own definition of what's vintage and what is not. And if old equipment is excused, why not newer stuff that is considerably more safe and perhaps less fire-hazardous?

So, this gives more headache, and people are pretty pissed off.

Click to expand...

I agree. This is a small step for METI to officially acknowledge that they realized a big problem, but their new enforcement policy is vastly inadequate.

If METI has anything to do with selection of vintage equipment, they are probably thinking along the line of more organizations to compile approved vintage model list, and more 天下り and bureaucracy. Also, their modification is also contingent upon enforcement of the PSE as they planned before.

Protesting is one way, but it's far less effective than getting media exposure through a celebrity or getting more attention from LDP members of the house. I see big names in LDP are definitely raising their level of awareness in this issue.

This kind of "illegalization" has already taken place in Europe but in a much more wider ranging form and not specific to electronics---- the environmental impact of the Japanese legislation is the most remarkable as it literally is about shortening the time-to-live of electronics (with all their heavy metals) to the level of computers. Here in Europe a commercial vendor is required to provide 2 years warranty on all goods. This is for old darkroom gear, just as old electronic junk, at current price points infeasible--- effectively meaning money back should the device fail or not perform to specification in any way within 2 years--- so these products have been removed from most photo-dealers shelves (not just due to declining demand and prices). In the European case, despite being faulty legislation (as nearly all laws are!), its not raised prices (as critics had suggested) nor destoyed the used market. The "used market" has, instead, just shifted over to the "private" domain (often dealers selling their stock as "private" individuals) of eBay and into other less formalized trading. Dealers can always (also in Japan) sell things as non-functional curios not intended for use on the mains system or as historical spare parts for tinkerers. Customers, on the other hand, are now much better protected from cheap faulty "made to break" products, This effectively works to extend the average "time of life" of products--- a wee bit of environmental protection through the sidedoor (new "generic" electronics btw. are no longer able to use lead base soldier). As in all changes there are winners and there are loosers. In Japan, I think, there are so many holes in the legislation that nobody has to worry about their old Fender e-guitars, Ampex tape recorders, vintage valve amps or enlargers......

There may very well be some aspects taht are analogous to what you described to happen in Japan. However, the particular product categories that are affected by PSE are actually tabulated in a government ordinance. Enlargers smaller than 5x7 without autofocus are covered. I don't know what autofocusing or negative carrier opening size means in enforcing the law, but this is how it goes. Studio flash units are classified in terms of portability and watt-seconds. People complain how boring patents are, but those government ordinance documents are even more boring, but I hate to rely on second hand information so I went through those. It's really depressing to see highly paid bureaucrats are wasting time on plugging small holes on a legislation with lots of big holes.

Yet all of these problems can be solved by cutting and pasting those word processor files, change a couple of things, put today's date, put some illegible official seal and post it in their hallway downstairs. They won't do it too easily, though.

Most Japanese government officials are still not dealing with this problem today because they are:

a) only concerned about big businesses and nothing else.

b) all Koizumi's LDP members secretly.

c) not big fans of democracy at all.

d) retarded.

e) illiterate.

f) suffering from Alzeheimer's disease.

g) just what they are, whatever that means.