Japan warming to cheap foreign gadgets amid slump

TOKYO (AP) - The recession is causing a massive consumer shift in Japan: No longer do its famously finicky and brand-conscious consumers assume imported and no-name electronics are as cheap in quality as they are in price.

As products from toasters to laptops carry increasingly similar components and special features - and as consumers increasingly seek bargains - price is becoming as important a distinction among electronics in Japan as it is in most countries.