Yeah, Japanese VX, like US VX are NTSC and shoot at 480 60i.
I think they also have a 16:9 shooting option which is just a cropped 4:3 just like on VX2000/2100.
PAL VX shoot at 576 50i, so slightly lower framerate, but slightly greater resolution.
From what I heard, one of the main advantage of Japanese VX is that they were produced for a longer time so you might find some newer camera which would be more reliable.
How much are you guys paying in the US for mini DV tapes ?
I used to buy 10 pack from Amazon for 25€, but now I see that it is the price of the 5 pack