Amazon announces Kindle for Japan will be launching soon

Amazon customers in Japan have been awaiting Kindle hardware for some time now, and while it didn’t make the rumored April release date, it appears Kindle products will soon be available to the Japanese market. A page on Amazon.co.jp clearly contains the official Kindle branding, with text saying “the world’s bestselling ereader” will be “coming soon.” There’s also a link to sign up and receive more info. Amazon has been bringing the Kindle to more international markets over the last year, so it’s not exactly a surprise to see this happen — but the ebook market in Japan hasn’t really taken off yet due to difficulties surrounding publishing rights.

Amazon got more incentive to get Kindle launched in Japan earlier this week, as online retailer and major Amazon competitor Rakuten announced plans to carry the Kobo ereader starting this July. We’ll find out soon whether Amazon is able to make the right content available to propel sales of its hardware. It’s too soon to tell what exact hardware Amazon is bringing to Japan, but it’ll likely be one of the black-and-white E Ink devices, if past international launches are a reliable guide.