Originally Posted by
bocastephen
The downside, seemingly confirmed in this thread, is the inability to do a trade-in (has this been confirmed?), or being able to buy on 0% installments.
Go to Apple Japan website, store section, and choose a product to purchase. There you can see notes about trade-ins and also 0% financing for certain periods of time. Choose English translation in your browser to read those notes. Not sure if the same applies to physical Apple store or all products.