Paul Blay wrote:

> What "Paypal like" systems are popular in Japan

None, as far as I know. Basically, in Japan cash is king. Credit cards
cannot be used in most supermarkets, for example, and debit cards are hardly
used at all. Added to that, there is widespread distrust of giving sensitive
information over the internet, so people are unwilling to register credit
card details with something like PayPal.

The usual system of paying for items ordered online or by post is by post
office transfer (yuubin furikae). Usually, you receive the goods before
paying and there's a filled-out transfer form sent along with the goods when
they arrive, though these days a lot of companies seem to be switching to
prepayment (at least for first-time purchasers).

> do any of them allow people not in Japan to use them?

I don't think there is anything at present. The post office transfer system
only works inside Japan, of course, and the administrative costs and
bureaucratic hassles of cheques, regular money orders and bank transfers
make them just not worth bothering with (except perhaps for amounts over
about $10000).

The only real option is an international postal money order, and even then
most online sellers don't allow for that option (presumably because they're
put off dealing with foreigners because of the language barrier).  I am
quite often approached by people not resident in Japan who are savvy enough
to track down a copy of a book they are looking for (on Amazon Japan or
elsewhere) but cannot purchase it because there is no provision for selling
to buyers abroad and they are reduced to ordering via a Japan-based
intermediary (me).

-- 
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
http://rarebooksinjapan.com