In general, any kind of prerecorded media are expensive in Japan. Twenty-five years ago, I paid ¥3000 for prerecorded cassette tapes, and that's about what CDs cost new. DVDs that would cost $30 in the US cost between about two to five times that in Japan.

On each recent trip to Japan, I have checked the DVD stores to see if some of my favorite TV programs from my student days or more recent extended stays have been issued. Almost none of them have. In contrast to the US and the UK, where nearly everything that has ever graced or disgraced a TV screen is available on DVD, the Japanese seem to release very few programs on DVD, and when they do, they release the whole series at once, and neither quality nor popularity seem to be considerations.

Otherwise, why would the silly and short-lived 1970s comedy Okusan wa Juuhassai ("Your Wife is 18 Years Old"--about a high school teacher who is secretly married to one of his pupils) be out on DVD, while the gritty police drama Hijou no Raisensu ("Special License") is not?