Many in the U.S. publishing industry feel Apple's release of the iPad, a multipurpose tablet computer with a built-in electronic reading device, will revolutionize the way consumers read and push the market into the digital age — just as the firm's iPod and iTunes did with music.
But is the same revolution about to hit Japan, a tech-savvy country with millions of digital-gadget lovers?
Japan still seems relatively untouched by the e-reader hype reshaping the U.S. publishing landscape, despite the iPad's American debut Saturday.