Over the course of its eight years of existence, Kickstarter has become a crowdfunding juggernaut, synonymous with ambitious (and occasionally unrealistic) campaigns to bring new gadgets, games, and other startup-worthy ideas to life. Prior to today, a Japanese version of the service remained ambiguously absent, despite the obvious opportunities for crowdfunding neat exports otherwise impossible to buy outside Tokyo.
Kickstarter is launching in Japan later this year
Photo: Kickstarter
is a Senior Producer on Decoder. Previously, he reported on the technology and gaming industries for more than a decade.
Now, according to a post on Kickstarter’s website, it will begin accepting projects from Japanese creators later this year. In the past, Japanese citizens have been able to contribute to Kickstarters, but have never been able to post their own projects. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been projects from Japan.
“Over the years there have been creators from Japan and other countries who have launched projects on Kickstarter by collaborating with partners,” a spokesperson confirmed to The Verge. Currently, that means partnering with a person or organization in one of Kickstarter’s 21 available markets. Information is scarce as to when the launch in Japan will happen, but Kickstarter has a sign-up page if you’re interested in getting an update on when the service goes live.
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