PHP: Japanese input/ouput: Need advice for PHP/MySQL programming

Sorry to post such a general question but I couldn't find what I needed in the docs or on Google. I'm in the planning stages of japanese web site that will be using PHP/MySQL. I have never worked with PHP in any language other than english and I am worried that I will be facing many thought issued because of the many character set used in Japan. Can anyone point me to any reference, tutorials, mailing lists that I can read in order to best plan ahead? I still new at this so even basic things like how to receive japanese data into PHP or inputting japanese into MySQL are a mystery to me. Any help/pointers are greatly appreciated! Jc