Before the release of the 360 there are was a big hoorah about how this time Microsoft are going to target Japan and do a lot better over there. Many saw it as a necessity for success in the console market at the time; especially considering the PS2's success. Microsoft certainly did try and they tried very hard. Mistwalker studios was a bold start to getting a Japanese oriented software pool, while there was also a significant promotional push over there with celebrities and such. The launch in Japan ended up being very muted and the console has generally not fared too well since bar the occasional spike. Considering the amount of promotion in the region, poor software performance and loss-making hardware, I doubt they made any worthwhile amount of money from Japan
Fast forward to now and we are wondering what MS will have for us with their next generation console. Kinect has been a hit in the west, but it's the complete opposite of what Japan wants. With rumours of a 360 withdrawal last year, one does wonder what strategy they will employ with the new console. Are they going to have a Kinect 2? They might aswell not even bother with the country. Will they pour as much effort in as they did with the 360?