Ask John: Why Don’t Japanese Doujinshi Shops Accept International Orders?

Question:
Why are Japanese online doujinshi shops unwilling to sell doujinshi to the international market? International customers would be willing to pay extra expenses the shops would incur in shipping internationally, so why the stubborn refusal? I’m interested in purchasing them, especially the non-adult ones, because I’m very interested in their creative visual stories.

Answer:
During my visits to Tokyo, I’ve eagerly purchased doujinshi at stores including Toranoana, Melon Books, K Books, Mandarake, and various small shops. Regrettably I’ve likewise found that most of these retailers, along with Japanese online stores, do not accept international orders. There are alternatives available including purchasing from domestic retailers (albeit at sometimes outrageously inflated prices) and buying through purchasing services that charge service fees. I’ve also used these options. So I do wish there was an easy and convenient way to purchase doujinshi directly from Japan (I’m referring to physical, printed doujinshi, not digitally distributed copies.) I don’t know for certain why Japanese retailers seem to be hesitant to accept international orders, but I do have two theories. Most Japanese doujinshi retailers may refuse international orders out of an odd respect for copyrights, and may refuse international orders to avoid dealing with credit card fees.

Most doujinshi seem to use copyrighted characters. I think it’s possible that Japanese retailers may wish to avoid international trafficking in unlicensed comics that violate copyright laws. Even though the mere existence of these doujinshi may constitute a violation of copyright laws, doujinshi using copyrighted characters are commonly accepted in Japan. But the fact that there’s an unwritten communal agreement to overlook doujinshi copyright violations in Japan doesn’t necessarily mean that Japanese retailers want to extend that compromise to include foreign consumers. On one hand, it seems unfair that Japanese fans are able to easily purchase doujinshi but foreigners are de facto prevented from buying doujinshi. On the other hand, doujinshi are a product of the Japanese fan community, intended for the Japanese fan community, so foreigners have no inherent right to demand access to doujinshi.

While the matter of principle may have something to do with why most Japanese companies refuse to sell doujinshi through international mail order, I suspect that the more influential reason has to do with Japanese economics. Japan is a particularly cash based society. Foreigners shopping for anime and video games in Tokyo may be surprised to find that many anime, manga, and game shops will not accept payment by credit card. The bias against credit cards isn’t motivated by fear of fraud; it’s a practical measure to avoid paying credit card usage fees. Credit cards are generally free for consumers to use, but retailers must pay a percentage of their sales revenue or other standardized fees to credit card companies for the ability to accept and process credit card transactions. Since most Japanese consumers commonly pay for material goods with cash, anime shops are able to avoid paying service fees to credit card companies by simply avoiding credit cards altogether. Refusing to accept credit card payments makes accepting international purchases very difficult. But accepting credit card payments for infrequent international sales may cost more than the profit international orders generate. So the simple solution is refusing to accept international orders altogether. For average Japanese retailers, the convenience and savings of not having to deal with international customers, currency exchange, and international shipping is worth more than the potential profit generated by the handful of international orders they might receive.

I don’t think that the refusal of most Japanese retailers to ship doujinshi overseas is motivated by racism or an acute respect for copyright law. I think most Japanese retailers simply find it more convenient and efficient to refuse international orders. I do know for certain that it’s still possible for foreign collectors to purchase doujinshi directly from retailers in Japan, including even the latest releases, at reasonable prices because I’ve done so myself. Avid international collectors simply have to know precisely what they want, and have to be prepared to diligently search for the few, sometimes well hidden, Japanese retailers that will accept international orders.