Blu-ray rental availability lagging in Japan
By Richard Lawler 
posted Aug 24th 2009 3:32PM
posted Aug 24th 2009 3:32PM
A Reuters blog posting from Japan reports that even with strong Blu-ray DVR sales, discs are still tough to find on rental shelves and suggests that Japanese makers have been reluctant to commit to the format so far. We're Redboxing and Netflixing it up on this side of the Pacific so the (likely lonely) inside of a video rental store even in the U.S. is foreign to us, but perhaps some of our overseas living or traveling readers can tell us how the HD battle is going from their perspective? 
I live in Tokyo and have had a PS3 since the Japanese launch. The rental situation for Blu-ray here is not good at all to say the least. At my local shop they actually have Blu-ray but it is a very limited selection. The only positive thing is people are not really renting them so I usually can get the movie I want(of what is there)
There was one copy of Underworld(the latest one) available on Blu-ray and there were like 20 cases of the DVD but they were all be rented out.
Another problem is the price to buy. I bought Quantam of Solace for $19 in America but it is around $40 here. The American versions almost always do not have Japanese subtitles despite the fact they have Chinese, Korean Thai etc. This is clearly on purpose to discourage importing.
I would prefer having the Japanese subtitles for the times I want to watch with my Japanese friends.
Cool, what area of Tokyo? Im in Asakusa.
If you go to a place like the Tsutaya store in Shibuya, prices for movies range from 4000 yen(about $40 us) to 5500 yen ($55 us) for a single movie. These movies aren't new movies either. They'll be classic movies that get sold for less in the us like Legally Blonde 1 & 2 in blu-ray is $40.00 ish, the dvd is still about $20.00-$25.00 which is rather rediculous in itself. Consider the US Counterpart for a movie like that at Wal-mart or any big box store is probably $6.99 give or take.
If a movie store bought that movie for $6.99, I can pretty much guarantee you, it would be rented at least twice if it says on the retail store shelves long enough and pays for itself. Probably within the first month. For new movies, its easy to see a copy of a movie go out four days in a row for $5.00 and the $20.00 purchase cost be paid off. After that, it becomes gross to go towards operational costs.
However, that same movie on blu-ray needs to go out 8-11 times before seeing a profit meaning the movie has to be rented consectuively for a week and a bit to two weeks isn't as likely of occuring. The movie probably would still turn a profit eventually but not as quick. Like any business, more profit is better which at the moment comes from a dvd copy over a blu-ray copy.
Also, from my experience in Japan, HDTV penetration is extremely low. I've visited quite a few restaurants, bars, friends apartments, girl's apartments, apartment buildings, guest houses and youth hostels. I only recently had the fortunate experience of seeing my first hdtv in Japan and it took nearly two months and was oddly in a French themed cafe-style restaurant fairly away from the main streets of Asakusa over the Azumibashi bridge about two blocks forward and two blocks to the right. Any other hdtv has been to advertise some fashionable clothing in a store window of a very large major chain in Ginza. Even then, the hd quality may have been edtv.
I live in Sweden and Blu-ray rentals has finally started to pop up at my local video store. Now adays most films that have a Blu-ray version is available for rental.
However, renting DVDs at the local grocery store is also available and here you can't rent Blu-ray at all.
Zeatrix, is it equal pricing for rental of dvd and blu-ray or is there a blu-ray rental premium? In Canada and Tokyo, blu-rays are about $1.00 more at most places.
Japanese people should have no problem getting dirt cheap blurays. Japan is next door to CHINA.