I wouldn't advice it. Its the reason why I own 2 PS3 consoles now instead of one. First I bought a Japanese PS3, mostly for the Backward Compatibility, and thought, hey, PS3 games are region free on the console anyway. Its more like the other way around. PS3 is region free for the PS3 games, so all region games will automatically play on your console, but... it depends on what kind of lock the developer has put on the disc. So if you buy an American version of say Ratchet & Clank. You won't get the US version on your Japanese PS3, but... right, the Japanese version. And there's no way to change that, same thing happens with Uncharted. On the side note, there's always an English language option.
Not all games have different regions on one disc though, but to be sure you don't get an entirely different Ratchet, its best to buy an American or European PS3 instead.
Oh and I wouldn't advice Play Asia as you will need to pay a big deal of taxes. Check NeoAmusement instead.
PLAYSTATION®3 is the future.....NOW.......B_E_L_I_E_V_E
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