I may be too late to be of any help, but according to my August 2002 copy of the EPC, Part No: YIB 100040 is listed as Hi-line navigation computer for Japan.

Looking in the Rover 75 workshop manual, it would seem that the European Hi-line system is different to the Japanese one in that there is an additional component called the VICS - Vehicle Information Comunications System. This is a traffic information unit which receives traffic information from the FM band and displays the info on the LCD. The receiver is connected to the navigation computer by a dedicated communications bus.

Also it describes the disc drive contained within the Japanese unit you were asking about as being a DVD-ROM drive not a CD-ROM one as used in Europe.

So it would seem the two systems are incompatible with each other if you were thinking of doing some interchanging between them.

The plugs are way different from the MKIII or MKIV BMW I-bus units. The Japan units won't work for us.

Hi Roy
The mk111 sat/nav Trimble unit is still going stong.
Rgds James. ( From Scotland )

Indeed, the Japan units won't work for anyone outside of Japan

Japan navs fitted to BMWs are made by Alpine and use a Japanese-specific map disc for the Japanese market. Totally different to the VDO nav.

As well as that, the menus are in Japanese, and extra features like the VICS system and Toll Collector system are integrated

The Japanese nav systems out of Japanese BMWs and Rovers and Minis are simply junk outside of Japan.
The only useful thing you can do with it is throw it away.

James, that's good news. Thanks for that.