Apple Launches iBookstore in Japan

Apple Launches iBookstore in Japan TOKYOMarch 6, 2013Apple today announced the launch of the iBookstore in Japan featuring titles from major and independent publishers, including a great selection of books from Kodansha, KADOKAWA, Bungeishunju, Gakken and Gentosha. The iBookstore has a wide selection of emerging and established authors including Shyotaro Ikenami, Jiro Akagawa, Atsuko Asano and Ryu Murakami. The iBookstore in Japan is the best way for book lovers to browse, buy and read books on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

We're excited to launch the iBookstore in Japan with a wide selection of Japanese publishers and authors, said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. We think customers are going to love how engaging and interactive the books are to read, and how beautiful they look on iPad.

We're thrilled to have our books on the iBookstore, said Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Chairman of KADOKAWA Group Holdings. More than anything, I think it's great the iBookstore lets us offer our readers a wide variety of reading experiences that they can't have anywhere else and that they can only have on their iOS device.

iBookstore customers can choose from a wide selection of enhanced books that look incredible on iPad, as well as digitally exclusive titles including Ryu Murakami's fiction novels At the Airport, Exodus of Middle-School Students and I'll Always Be With You, Always, which has interactive emails in each chapter to bring you even deeper into the story.

I'm excited to offer three of my works exclusively on the iBookstore, and hope that readers love them as much as I do, said author, novelist and filmmaker Ryu Murakami. As an author and Apple user for 20 years, the arrival of the iBookstore allows me to tell stories in a way you simply can't in a physical book.

Beloved children's books including Piyo-chan: A Letter for Piyo come to life with interactivity, transitions and audio, while new favorites including Toy Story 3: So Long Partner let readers easily read aloud at their own pace.

We couldn't be more excited about how incredible Piyo-chan: A Letter for Piyo' looks on the iBookstore, said Hiroaki Miyahara, President and Representative Director of Gakken Holdings. We've taken this beloved Japanese children's book and made it more engaging with gorgeous animations and interactivity that makes learning more fun.

Cookbooks are even more useful on the iBookstore with titles such as I Love Cheesecakes! from culinary specialist Kiyomi Ishizawa that allows cooks to easily search recipes and ingredients. Additionally, the iBookstore offers best-selling fiction novels including Sora-Tobu Kouhoushitsu by Hiro Arikawa, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu by Nagaru Tanigawa, and Tenchi Meisatsu by Tow Ubukata. Also available for purchase and download on the iBookstore are world-renowned Manga titles including Eiichiro Oda's ONE PIECE, Mari Yamazaki's THERMAE ROMAE and Hirohiko Araki's full color version of JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE Part 4, which is digitally exclusive on the iBookstore.

The iBookstore is available in 51 countries and offers hundreds of categories including cookbooks, history books, biographies, picture books and children's books with free books available in 155 countries. The iBooks app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch has been downloaded 130 million times worldwide.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Press Contact:

Adam Howorth

Apple

adamh@apple.com

020 7184 1202

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LINK:	http://www.apple.com/uk/pr/library/2013/03/06Apple-Launches-iBookstore...
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