According to an article in the International Herald Tribune the Japanese government (or should I say Sony and Warner) are trying to establish a tax on music players.

According to the article:

Money earned from the fee, likely to be 2 percent to 5 percent of the retail price, would go to recording companies, songwriters and artists as compensation for lost revenue from home copying.

I predict that if the tax is passed, the “songwriters and artists” share of this money will be paltry compared to the amount that goes to the record companies. Luckily the Japanese consumers see this as blatant corporate manipulation of their government (which it is) and so the whole thing is creating an uproar. I just wish I could write my previous post on this subject in Japanese.