Internet search services provider Google Inc., US, has announced that it will launch an electronic books service in Japan next year. According to Yoichi Sato, a strategic partner development manager at Google Japan, the Japanese version of Google Editions will start with a limited number of titles.
E-books are still relatively rare in Japan, and local publishing houses have only recently started considering how best to approach the new technology. Major Japanese publishers are still uneasy about handing over book data, especially of in-copyright titles, to Google. They fear that the content may be used for unintended purposes. Japanese copyright laws also require strict and complicated permission processes involving authors and publishers, before Google can use book contents for online searches and sales.
Google Editions is similar to but separate from the controversial Google Books search project that aims to make all of the world's written works available online. While Google Books shows a small portion of the book at a time for free, Google Editions offers access to the entire content of the scanned books for a price.
In the US and Europe, Google plans to start Editions and sell electronic books that people can read on any Internet-connected device including Apple's iPad tablet computer.
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