Japan's 'slow' adoption of digital is more to do with record labels trying to prevent it. Similar to how game renting is 'illegal'. It is not the people standing against 'evil' downloads. Oh, and Tsutaya... rent a CD, copy it, return it, done, for less than half the price of a download. Oh, and the second hand market in Japan is so muchbetterdifferent than in the west. Offering even more choice for music, again sometimes much cheaper than a download of the same album.
The digital scene in Japan is interesting to read about, but also annoying as I would like access to more digital content but alas, no (at least not without jumping through a few hoops). But then I have many different options I wouldn't have had back in the west. I don't think its fair to paint Japan as being slower (or faster) to adopt new tech than other countries as it really depends on what technology you're talking about. Too much generalising going on. But i do recommend reading about the history of it, and while you're at it check out video game rentals in Japan too.
As for me, I like digital for some things, but love having physical copies for others. As we're talking about music, i get digital for normal music, but like to collect game soundtracks in physical form.