Ive been cycle touring for a 3 years pretty much continoiusly, in Se Asia and at the mo im on the way to argentina from Alaska, one thing id bare in mind is if you would later think about taking on somewhere more remote or less westernised ie south america then getting spares for racing type 700c wheels willbe a problem, for this reason i have now gone to an old school steel framed mtn bike, as i will always be able to find a mtn bike tyre that will last longer than a racing tyre under load.
Iv emet a few japanese touring on giants, they say it comes in a apckage in Japan andit has a really solid looking rack for suspension forks, although i wouldnt recommend suspension myself.
The best bikes i have seen are are old school mtn bikes as they are cheapo and have great geometry for touring on, i love mine better than the custom made bob jackson that i had made a year ago and snapped in mexico, so dont go carzy and spend too much when a great touring can be made with little alterations out of a mtn bike, as long as it is steel with brazeons all is good