Alexa is coming to Japan! 🇯🇵

Amazon announced that Alexa, the brain behind the Amazon Echo, is coming to Japan, along with several Alexa-enabled devices: Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. Customers who want to help further the development of Alexa and the Echo family of devices may request an invitation to purchase devices beginning today.

This opens up new opportunities for developers in Japan and around the world. Starting today, you can build for voice with Alexa and reach customers in Japan with the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), the collection of self-service APIs, tools, documentation, and code samples. And starting this month, developers can preview all AVS technical documentation and generally available development tools on the Japanese language Developer Portal, and can sign up for the developer preview. Hardware makers are already planning voice-driven experiences for customers in Japan through an invite-only customer preview program including Onkyo P3 speakers, Harman Kardon Allure, and Eufy Genie.

Tens of thousands of developers from around the world have already started developing voice experiences for Alexa. More than 250 skills will be available at launch with Alexa in Japan. Popular Japanese brands are already building skills for Japanese customers including: ALC PRESS INC., All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., JTB Corp., Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Nomura Holdings, Inc., The Pokémon Company, Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd., TV Asahi Corporation, ZENSHO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., and others.

https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/0fcba76b-7460-4975-8fad-833996f6a23e/alexa-skills-kit-now-available-in-japan