New law forbidding the sale of used gear Japan

What! That is the most absurd thing that I've ever heard! It's obvious that the enormous and powerful makers of consumer electronics have flexed their political muscles. What a shame. Oh well I'm sure that certain motivated and enterprising folks will get around it. Still, talk about ridiculous abuses of peoples individual right! And in terms of the environment, as soon as a piece gets to be 5 years old you either have to keep it or off to the landfill? Tragic!

That basically sums up how I felt when I read the article. However, i will be in japan from march 24-april 15 so im going to see if i can get some kondo gear from the landfill :-)

Not just yet! According to the rest of the article

Update: Well, it looks like you can relax a little. Thanks to Roy at Mutant Frog, we've learned a little more about the intricacies of Japanese law. Turns out that sellers of certain kinds of old gear will have to get a government seal certifying that the items adhere to modern safely standards if they want to sell the stuff after April 1. Sellers are crying foul, saying that in certain cases, it'll be too hard to get certification, and they may end up dumping their gear -- or exporting it, since it turns out exports are exempt from the new law. So, for the best deals on unsafe old Japanese electrical products, start checking the second-hand markets of Shanghai and Hanoi. Just don't mention our name.

Just as in the US, where TV broadcasting should have been only in the digital format by now, forces in the marketplace [pissed off consumers and trade groups] can sometimes alter or abort the "best laid plans" of Government Agency weasels!