Of course this happened in Japan first:
1.) They're accustomed to similar practices, as they live on an island and must worry more about waste.
2.) The overhead may be lower- you don't have to send your spent monitors all that far. Gas is more expensive, and other factors will have driven costs up, but it's (again) an easier/cheaper feat to pull off in Japan.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course this happened in Japan first: 1.) They're accustomed to similar practices, as they live on an island and must worry more about waste. 2.) The overhead may be lower- you don't have to send your spent monitors all that far. Gas is more expensive, and other factors will have driven costs up, but it's (again) an easier/cheaper feat to pull off in Japan.