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Importing digital LN/manga outside of Japan




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ajr



Joined: 29 Nov 2010
Posts: 465
PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 6:58 pm Reply with quote
I can purchase printed copies of manga and light novels from Amazon Japan and other Japanese websites, but it appears that I generally can't purchase these same books in their digital format. For example, this Amazon page is for the kindle version. Viewing it normally, I'm unable to purchase it, but if I view it through Google Translate (i.e. a proxy), the purchase button comes back.

I'm just curious if anyone has any idea why the publishers would choose to do this. Terribly written contracts?
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7578
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:44 pm Reply with quote
With most goods, Amazon is just buying then from the manufacturer and shipping them; they don't really care where as long as you pay up. For Kindle books they are in essence acting as a publisher so have to abide by regional restrictions.
It's the same situation as Crunchyroll - I can import the US DVDs for, say, "Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions" from their store, but I can't watch the show on their streaming service in the UK.
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ajr



Joined: 29 Nov 2010
Posts: 465
PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Ah, okay, that makes a certain amount of sense. I'm still a little baffled why unlicensed titles would be under regional restrictions, but maybe it's just not worth it to chase that revenue and treat licensed and unlicensed titles differently.
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