Japanese character input

charles here. i tried using redhat linux recently but found that it could not view japanese characters properly. Similarly, there is no linux equivalent of the Microsoft global IME yet( at least not one that is satisfactory enough). While I am not a great fan of Microsoft, I feel that it will still take some time before Linux and OSS/FS can be ready to replace Microsoft as the dominant force among desktop OS.
Just my two-cents worth. Anyone who knows of any good IME-like software for Linux or RedHat, please let me know.Thanks