Japanese games on American consoles

[Sabin XIII]

Supposedly, this equation doesn't work, right? I'm considering buying some imports, so I'd like to ask if I would need a Japanese PS2 to play Japanese games, or if it's possible to buy some sort of adaptor for an American console that allows it to play Japanese games. Also, if it is possible, is it necessarily a better option?

EDIT: Also, does it make a difference that I'll be using Beatmania controllers and the like?

[spoonsman]

You'll need to either get a fliptop or a mod chip for your American PS2. More discussion on that can be found in the mod chip topic in the console forum.

Controllers are region agnostic- a JP controller will work on a US console and vice versa.