How come when albums are released in Japan, there are usually more bonus tracks than the US/European version?

Question

I've noticed that most albums have bonus tracks when released in Europe/Australia, but when albums are released in Japan, there are always extra tracks that aren't seen anywhere else.

An example is Beyonce's new album B'day - the European/Australian release has three extra songs, and the Japanese release has those three songs plus another one called "Creole".

Is there are particular reason record companies decide to release albums in Japan with more songs than everywhere else?

Answer 1

In Japan, imported CDs are cheaper than our own domestic products. In order to persuade the Japanese to buy domestically licensed and released versions, Japan-only bonus tracks, liner notes (information about the musician and details on the extent of each piece), and lyrics (both English and Japanese translation) are included to make them more desirable.

I'm Japanese but prefer imported CDs because they are cheaper than the Japanese-made CDs!

Answer 2

even as a band releases an album international huge, each and every so often a diverse agency(ies) distributes it in diverse factors of the international. even as it contains Japan, the agency that distributes the album does no longer choose 'low priced imports'. so, many bands record a 'bonus' music only for Japan.

Answer 3

So they can get American consumers to spend more money buying imports with the 'bonus' tracks...