Japan does have an Apple though. It's called Nintendo.

Not a bad comparison, but I feel like there's something off about it that I can't quite put my finger on it.

I think maybe it's along lines of the fact that Apple is the type of company to create an object that you kind of revere for how it makes you feel to own it rather than for what it does for you. For example, the N64 controller is the definition of ugly, but it was a great step forward in controller design. I can't see Apple releasing anything ugly or uncool looking, no matter how advanced the technology or the ideas behind it.

I don't know... I think the DS Lite and the Wiimote are approaching Apple's level of simplicity in design, although they lack the premium in cost.

As for ugly Apple products, there are probably some out there that qualify (mostly non-Jobs stuff)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_II_series

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Anniversary_Macintosh

the n64 and its controller came out 10 years ago... as jcl points out, going back so many years in the past and you'll find ugly Apple products too.

Looking at modern Nintendo products, it's really hard to say that they're not aesthetically pleasing