Hi Nancy,
I don't know for sure, but as I understand it:
-(a) if you're using Access 2000 or later, (b) the Japanese files are
encoded in UTF16 and (c) your system has a Unicode font that includes
Japanese characters, all you need do is use that font. That should let
you display and manipulate the data, but data entry won't be possible
(or rather won't be easy).
-if the Japanese files are in another 2-byte encoding, I think you'll
need to have Windows's "East Asian" language files installed (in Control
Panel|Regional Settings|Languages), and Japanese enabled for text
services and input languages. I think this will include the common
Japanese encodings in the Code Page dropdown in the Advanced dialog in
the the text import/export wizard), and also install a suitable font. It
should also make it possible to enter Japanese text, if you know how
(which I don't<g>).
Hope this helps.