Amazon.com to launch e-book services in Japan

A major US online retailer, Amazon.com, is in the final stages of negotiations with Japanese publishers to launch its electronic book services in Japan by the end of this year.

People in the publishing industry say Amazon is negotiating with members of the Japan Electronic Publishing Association, which is made up of 43 publishing companies.

PHP Inc. is planning to distribute about 1,000 titles through Amazon. The Kyoto-based mid-sized publisher aims to reach a deal by the end of this month.

Major publisher Kodansha is reportedly also in talks with Amazon.

Last year, a number of e-book readers hit the Japanese market. But shortages in content have posed a problem.

Amazon's e-book readers are boosting their share in the United States and Europe.

Competition in the Japanese e-book market is most likely to intensify with Amazon's participation.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 11:55 +0900 (JST)