Yeh that could be worth a shot. don't know what difference it will make being japanese though!
Are you sure the OS CD is OK? If so, it could be a fault with the actual cd drive itself, if its not a driver problem.
Another way of doing this as well, (and a whole new thread in itself) is to network the laptop to the desktop system via crossover network cable, or by using laplink cable, & copy win98 cab files straight onto hard drive