I'm not sure that MS really gives a crap about Japan. And honestly, it seems they've been just fine.

the whole POINT of the new Aussie ratings system was so that things COULD be rated. Now they're "refusing" classification? How can you REFUSE to classify something? If you're going to do that, why even have the new 15+ and 18+ legally enforced ratings? Since any time the Aussie board gets a game that may fit into one of those labels, they'll just "refuse" to classify it. They've basically created ratings for games that they have no intention of ever using.

that gamepad would be ideal for all of those classic fighting games on XBLA, which are at the moment near unplayable due to the 360 controller's hideous d-pad

i have the razer lachesis and am using it right now. it's a fantastic mouse.