Kindle in Japan

[injapan]

after 5 years or more it seem Kindle is now available in Japan, see it on the front of amazon Japans page


http://www.amazon.co.jp/

[Kumabjorn]

The prices seem fairly close to what they cost outside the US in other markets. Not bad, not bad at all.

Can't find any Japanese books though, nor a Kindle Store, within the site.

[Kumabjorn]

Found it, the store opens Oct 25.

[StoryEnthusiast]

Is it possible to order Japanese books from outside Japan? Will they accept non-Japanese credit cards? Thanks

[injapan]

I think they actual kindles will be sold from December (???) .... pretty slow

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by StoryEnthusiast

Is it possible to order Japanese books from outside Japan? Will they accept non-Japanese credit cards? Thanks

That has traditionally been a hurdle when dealing with Japanese e-commerce, it seems the surcharges by the Japanese VISA etc are substantial for foreign currency transactions, a relic from the days when Tokyo Bank had a monopoly on foreign exchange. That leaves little margin for profit, hence the reluctancy to sell to customers with foreign issues credit cards.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

These Kindles are actually cheaper than those in the US (normal version is around the equivalent of $105 US) and I don't see any mention of advertisements on the Kindle itself.
Not sure about prices. I just checked out Anthony Everitt's The Rise of Rome on Amazon and it costs me 2,091 yen. I can get it on the Kobo book store for 1,498 yen and if I use one of the coupons that brings it down to around 950 yen. I don't know about other books but if that's what the prices are like then I definitely wont be buying from the Kindle bookstore.

[Kumabjorn]

I'm curious to find out how many Japanese books they will have available.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I'm curious to find out how many Japanese books they will have available.

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...le-paperwhite/

They’re promising to stock a total of over 50,000 Japanese-language Kindle books and 15 thousand maga titles, including over 10 thousand free Japanese-language titles and a broad selection of works from a wide range of leading Japanese authors and publishers. Amazon is also boasting that that the Kindle Store will stock titles from the various top 100 books, top 50 bunko, and top 100 manga lists in addition to the million plus titles found elsewhere in the Kindle Store.

For comparison:

Getting back to the ebooks: 50,000 ebooks, can you believe it? When Kobo launched in Japan they only barely managed to stock 18 thousand local titles, most of which were free titles. And as we all know, the rest of Kobo’s launch in that country went about as badly as could be.

[Kumabjorn]

Amazon had been busy behind the bamboo screens. That should satisfy a lot of needs, I think that is a selection equal to what Sony offers.

[Komavary]

Hi,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm glad that Amazon finally decided to open it's Japanese Kindle store.

Not so glad that they wouldn't allow international orders.

Anyway, did anyone with a Japanese IP found a sudden increase in the .com kindle prices? Like, in some cases 50-100%, or more.

I tried to contact customer service, and cited Ben Goldacre's Bad Pharma (which changed from 9.99 to 17.63), and their reply was that this (and his previous book) is currently not available for US customers o.O

[Kumabjorn]

So you would need a Japanese IP to purchase from Amazon.co.jp?

[Komavary]

It looks like you'll need a Japanese IP.

But there are stories that in Hongkong, a Japanese account was enough to buy content from .co.jp (with an Iphone app).

So maybe there are a few loopholes left.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/forum/kindle...x3P8KN1OTJXCN9

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Amazon has already dropped the price of the Japanese Paperwhite to $100 US. That's for the ad-free version. Unbelievable! No doubt a shot across Kobo's bow.

[jarrahloh]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Amazon has already dropped the price of the Japanese Paperwhite to $100 US. That's for the ad-free version. Unbelievable! No doubt a shot across Kobo's bow.

Yes.
Kobo is behind this whole thing.
Japan had been sitting there untapped by a Western market for years, then Kobo takes advantage, Amazon see's the lost market and desperately swoops in.

Oh well, it just creates a bigger market for authors etc.