Importing PlayStation2 prohibited?

Thinking of importing a Sony PlayStation2 from Japan? Nikkei Online reports that transporting PlayStation2 consoles outside of Japan is prohibited by law. The Japanese PlayStation's official Web site cites the following: "As of June 18, 1999, the International Foreign Exchange and Trade Law prohibits transporting of Sony PlayStation2 and the Sony PlayStation2 Memory Cards outside of Japan without a consent from the Department of Trade and Commerce." The report said that one of the possible reasons is because of Sony's unique encryption technology, called Magic Gate, on the PS2 memory card. This is the first time a game console has been given such prohibition. Whether this will have an impact on importing the PlayStation2 in the future has yet to be determined. Full story. -- GameSpot