http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/feature.html/...d_i=489986

So far as I can determine, there's not yet any information about terms of service and whether books can be purchased from outside Japan -- although I have to mention that a Norwegian user just had his entire account wiped because he was buying books from the UK Kindle store...

I guess this is as good a place as any to discuss the Japanese Kindle. I hope books can be purchased from outside Japan because I've been waiting for this for forever. That being said if it's possible you'll probably need a Japanese credit card or something. Think we'll find out soon?

If you wondered why Japan took so long, you might be able to gain some insight from the way Amazon shafts UK publishers and taxpayers. If you decide to try and do something a bit desperate to get books from the Japanese store, you might also want to see how Amazon deals with this sort of thing before you do (the story Fillanzea alluded to).

During the Apple keynote yesterday they showed iBooks 3.0 with Japanese books. iBooks 3.0 is now out and I think you can easily change the app/ibookstore location on your account info. I have a store credit on my iPad so it won't let be change until the balance is zero but otherwise you should be able to easily do it.

Finally it's here!

The different intenational kindle stores are IP restricted. You won't be able to buy a Japanese book from outside Japan.

kitakitsune Wrote:The different intenational kindle stores are IP restricted. You won't be able to buy a Japanese book from outside Japan.

Do you think there's any way around this?

You could try some proxying but the second barrier would be the lack of a credit card registered to a Japanese address...

Yeah, I just tried to buy something and got blocked.

The most likely possible workaround is what's currently done with the iTunes store -- it's possible to buy a gift card to the Japanese iTunes store via JList. But we'll have to wait to see if something similar materializes.

I'm no huge fan of Amazon's corporate policies. It's just, it makes NO sense to me to pay people to ship dead trees halfway around the world when computer data doesn't have to travel on a boat. (And I'm running out of storage space for paper books.) But as an author, piracy holds no appeal for me -- and even if it did, I would rather read Mori Eto and Miura Shion than the light novels that usually get pirated.

So it could've been so great if these books weren't region-restricted, and I'm kinda sad.

It probably costs way more money to set up the infrastructure required (legal, accounting, etc) for international book sales than they would ever get back in sales.

Apparently you can change the country in your Amazon account (under "Country Settings" in "Manage My Kindle") to gain access to the kindle store in other countries, but it does look like some people are running into problems when they try this.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7976...nt-country

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98820

Well, that sucks.

Kallistiさん、現在この商品はご注文いただけません。

著作権制限のため、お客様が購入しようとしている Kindle タイトルは、お住まいの国、アメリカ合衆国ではご利用いただけません。

All these wonderful Japanese language manga perfectly ready to be read on my new Kindle 3.0 iPad app and I can't get them. Proxy didn't help very much either.

I suppose I can ask a friend in Japan to download them, break the DRM, and send them to me.

KallistiX Wrote:I suppose I can ask a friend in Japan to download them, break the DRM, and send them to me.

Sounds like something I'd do but I have no friends in Japan that probably know how to get rid of the DRM. If I find a way to download them by other means I will but I'd willingly pay for these books and a Japanese Kindle. It's unfortunate that we must jump through so many hoops.

Amazon Kindle App was just updated.

One of the new features says that there is support for Japanese including vertical text & manga.

I wonder if it's possible to buy Japanese books via the Kindle mobile app.
My iPad was not purchased in Japan.

chamcham Wrote:I wonder if it's possible to buy Japanese books via the Kindle mobile app.

Purchases must be made at amazon.co.jp. It's impossible to purchase within the app.

It also looks like you can't purchase Kindle books from Amazon.co.jp and have them work on US Kindles (or the Kindle app, either, I guess.) Does anyone know where Japanese ebooks can be bought that will work in the US?

KMarkP Wrote:It also looks like you can't purchase Kindle books from Amazon.co.jp and have them work on US Kindles (or the Kindle app, either, I guess.) Does anyone know where Japanese ebooks can be bought that will work in the US?

are the japanese language e-books in .mobi format? will those books work on the american kindle or the american kindle paperwhite if you can successfully purchase them? would the american device get confused with the right to left direction of the books? i get the feeling these are all things we will learn soon.

Javizy Wrote:you might also want to see how Amazon deals with this sort of thing before you do (the story Fillanzea alluded to).

I've found a link to this in the comment section of the article, might come in handy: How To Strip DRM from Kindle E-Books and Others

Hi good news everyone

You can shop at the Kindle store at amazon.co.jp from outside Japan.

It's simple. Here's how to do it.

1. Log into your amazon account
2. Click on "your account"
3. Look for "kindle support" on the right hand side
4. Click on "manage my kindle"
5. Look for "your kindle account" on the left
6. Click on "country settings"
7. Change to Japan
8. Follow all the directions about signing up for amazon Japan if you haven't already done that. It will also ask you to consolidate your library. Click yes on that...
9. Go shopping


You don't need a Japanese credit card either.

And enjoy it while you can. It's almost certainly illegal for amazon to sell these books/comics to people outside of Japan

I guess I never understood why companies put geographic restrictions on who can buy their goods. Wouldn't any business be welcome? It's the same with xbox games, phone apps etc. I would gladly pay for a kindle and books if I could read them in Japanese...

any japanese language learning books worth getting (that is hard to get in the West)?

also, can Amazon delete books from an android kindle app?

kitakitsune Wrote:Hi good news everyone

You can shop at the Kindle store at amazon.co.jp from outside Japan.

It's simple. Here's how to do it.

1. Log into your amazon account
2. Click on "your account"
3. Look for "kindle support" on the right hand side
4. Click on "manage my kindle"
5. Look for "your kindle account" on the left
6. Click on "country settings"
7. Change to Japan
8. Follow all the directions about signing up for amazon Japan if you haven't already done that. It will also ask you to consolidate your library. Click yes on that...
9. Go shopping


You don't need a Japanese credit card either.

I love you.

Edit: Still may not be able to download it personally. It seems your method works as I can now attempt to buy it; however, I don't actually have a Kindle just the Android App and the Japanese Amazon site doesn't recognize me as having the app and won't let me proceed. I suppose I'm on the verge of giving up and just spending my money on a PS3 and ニノ国. Not a bad trade-off but still quite disappointed...

HououinKyouma Wrote:I guess I never understood why companies put geographic restrictions on who can buy their goods. Wouldn't any business be welcome? It's the same with xbox games, phone apps etc. I would gladly pay for a kindle and books if I could read them in Japanese...

In many cases, such as many (but not all) games and movies, it often has something to do with different companies having the distribution rights fo9r the same content in different territories. Things get region locked so that one licensee (or distributor, or whatever) doesn't end up stepping on another licensee's territorial rights. That's maybe a bit of over-simplification, and there are other factors, but often that's a factor.

I'm not sure how much of a factor that would be with e-books. It might depend on what sort of deals the original creators, the publishing companies, and other links in the distribution channel have in place regarding different territories. It's probably not as simple as just a matter of Amazon.com vs. Amazon.jp.

I don't understand all the reasons behind geographically limiting media, and I'm sure it's a complex picture, but when it comes to digital media available online, it's clearly an outdated system. You need to criminalise people who want your content before you respond to changes in demand though, preferably holding out for a decade or more. "Illicit" international online purchasing can be the new file-sharing.

midonnay Wrote:also, can Amazon delete books from an android kindle app?

They just wipe your entire Amazon account and won't listen to excuses or negotiate reactivation. You don't actually own any Kindle books you've paid for - you're just "renting" them - so they'll be wiped from whatever device you sync. You'd need to keep a backup (try syncing to the desktop app and copying the files) and avoid online syncing. Not breaking the T&C is another option...