Apple denies August launch date for iTunes in Japan

Reports that Apple Japan will launch a local version of the iTunes Music Store in two months' time are "completely untrue", according to Apple Japan spokesman cited by local website Internet Watch. Apple Japan did confirm that it is still talking to the labels, but it would not comment further. Yesterday, Japanese newspaper the Nihon Keizai Shimbun claimed ITMS Japan will launch in August following digital distribution deals reached between Apple Japan and a number of major Japanese record labels, specifically Avex and Toshiba-EMI. In April, Apple Japan president Yoshiaki Sakito said ITMS Japan would open by the end of the year.

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