You don't hear much about BTC out of Japan. I don't know if that's going to change any time soon.
Besides nuclear disasters, I think we don't hear much out of Japan in general...
There is a language and cultural barrier so that only few information from Japan make their way to the headlines - especially since Bitcoin is not a mainstream topic and the small Bitcoin news sites we have have neither expertise nor knowledge to search and report foreign language news. I can't imagine that Japan is left behind when it comes to Bitcoin, because the country generally stays on the forefront of new technologies.
Despite massive quantitative easing by its central bank, Japan has been in a recession since decades. People are in depression mode - a new generation of risk-taking, innovative entrepreneurs is much needed. In my opinion, Bitcoin will find its use in Japan as well. People there are just a lot more hesitant to openly criticize their government.
ya.ya.yo!
