Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson <ken_nicolson@hotmail.com> wrote:

> What does Japanese law say about this kind of issue? I find it
> difficult to believe that it would be "cave emptor" as my BYJW
> implied.

Well, it wasn't a dress, but I returned something once, with relatively
little problem. I bought decent boom box (couldn't fit a real stereo in
my "mansion") and when I got it home, the CD player didn't work. Took
it back to the store, explained the situation, and asked for another. First,
they tested it themselves (of course; a foreigner cannot be expected to push
the "CD" button that's labelled in English.) They then asked me to read
the directions; I told them I had, and read the instructions  to them (which
seemed to surprise them.) They then took the book, and read the instructions
themselves (mysteriously, the words didn't change in that time. Nor did the
results.) Finally, they said they'd exchange it, but it would take 4 days for
them to get the replacement. No problem, I said; give me my money back for
those four days. At that point, the manager, no doubt noticing that other
potential customers were paying close attention to a conversation involving
1) a foreigner and 2) the possibility of defective merchandise (not to mention
3) the possibility of having to RETURN money) came rushing over and offered 
to exchange it for some other model. I couldn't find anything I liked, so
I offered to take the floor model of the same boom box in exchange for a 10%
discount and 2 blank tapes. He agreed, and everyone went away as happy as
they could, under the circumstances.

Mike