Japanese promo CDs are just like American promo CDs - they were issued by records companies to commercial outlets such as radios and stores for promotional purposes.  They were given to the stores for free, so there is usually some standard note saying "not for resale" since they were not originally sold by the record company.  While it is technically illegal for someone to attempt to sell them, this is generally not enforced in the U.S., and most venues (such as eBay) don't care so long as a promo item is clearly identifed as such in an auction.

All Japanese promo CDs have at least one of two indicators:
(1) There will be a sticker on the back insert
(2) There may be either English or Japanese text on the clear plastic portion of the CD around the spindle hole.
 

(sticker on back insert)	(text on CD)
(sticker on back insert)	(text on CD)
(sticker on back insert of sealed CD)

Notice the similarity of the Japanese text on all of these stickers.  While I can't read Japanese, it's safe to say that those 3 characters that show up in all these stickers spell out "sample" or "promo" in Japanese.  In general, there's no reason whatsoever for a Japanese CD to have ANY kind of stickers stuck directly on any of the inserts unless the CD is a promo.  The same goes for text in the clear spindle portion of the CD.
 

Many eBay sellers try to tout Japanese promo CDs as very rare and collectible.  While they may be rare, simple observation of the selling bids on eBay for Japanese (and American) promo CDs will reveal that the idea they are commonly collected is total hogwash.  It is exremely rare for a Japanese promo CD to get more than one bid, and the auction will usually end without any bids.  If most sellers of Japanese promos would put the starting bid around $1 to $2, instead of the usual $8 to $10, then they might sell a little more often, but it's probably rarer to see that happen than it is for a promo CD to get multiple bids.  And I'd venture a guess than 95% of eBay bidders who place a bid for a Japanese promo CD are unaware that the item is a promo, or haven't taken the time (or remembered) to carefully read the text of the auction ad for keywords like "promo", "sample", "dj copy", etc.  I, for one, will not place a bid on most all Japanese promo items that are properly described in the auction.  And I will request a refund of the original auction winning bid, original shipping costs, and actual return shipping cost (if you want me to return it) for any Japanese promo CDs I receive which haven't been properly identified in the auction ad.
 

I began collecting Japanese CDs around the summer of 2002.  It wasn't until the winter of 2003 that I started to have a problem with people selling Japanese promo CDs on eBay without identifying them in the auction.  Most sellers either claimed ignorance, or said they didn't remember to check.  One extremely pigheaded U.S. seller (in California - no surprises there) refused to give me a refund for a Japanese promo CD because she BLAMED ME for not asking her to check since I knew how to identify Japanese promo CDs and she didn't.  Since I have to pay overseas shipping for most of the Japanese CDs I win on eBay, I would like to avoid these situations if possible.  Please check both the back insert and the CD for the 2 promo indicators I described above.  Not all promo CDs will have both a sticker and promo text on the CD.  A lot of people will stick a promo CD inside good inserts from an official copy of the album and then hope that the buyer doesn't notice.  If this Japanese CD is sealed, then please make sure that there are no areas (besides underneath the obi) that are concealed.  I've won a sealed Japanese CD auction where there was an electronic tracing device below the shrink wrap that was ACTUALLY CONCEALING a promo sticker.  The tricks that some people will try these days are quite shameless.  So if there is some area of the back insert that is hidden behind a sticker or tracing device on or below the shrink wrap, then please verify that there isn't a promo sticker below, either by removing the shrink wrap, or by cutting out the section of the shrink wrap with the object in question so that you can look underneath.  Don't worry about scratching the case - those are $0.25 a piece here in the U.S.  I haven't yet heard of a case where a promo sticker was hidden underneath the obi of a sealed CD, but I'm sure it won't be long before that happens.  But (for now) I'm not asking that a sealed CD be opened only to check under the obi.

THANKS for your cooperation!!!