> not only did it cost them alot to build this 
> system,

[shameless plug]I can build you something similar
for $200-$300. Count one week before delivery as I 
have already other projects[/shamless plug] :)
 
> it is also going to cost alot to maintain it.

Doing packets take time and you already have at
least a 2% fee on the credit card transaction.

Speaking of which, I wonder how it will work : 
Credit cards company contract forbid you to "push" 
money to a credit card except to refund the 
purchase of a produce that was canceled. (Which is 
why Paypal had to stop using that method to 
transfer money to their users).

Also, you need a special license to keep monetary 
accounts for people as it is a role similar to a
bank. (I think there is some explaination on 
"anypay" website)

> Unfortunately the only way to avoid fees and 
> comissions is to make friends with someone in
> Japan!

Well, it's not really needed, especialy for cels : 
people selling cels on Yahoo Japan are getting 
more and more used to have to deal from time to 
time with non-japanese :)
You just need one or two generic email in which 
you fill the blanks as needed and a translation 
software in case you really need to add something 
that wasn't covered in the generic mails.

I started doing a webpage that would let you 
generate the needed emails but I never finished 
it. (too lazy...:)

Cheers,
Yann Stettler