Nov 11, 2010 08:24 GMT  ·  By

Apple is now offering movies from major international film studios on the iTunes Store in Japan, the company said in a press release issued today. In addition to the likes of 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and The Walt Disney Studios, studios whose work is featured on the Japanese iTunes Store include Japan’s Asmik Ace Entertainment Inc., Fuji TV, Kadakowa Pictures, and Nikkatsu, Apple said.

A fragment of the official announcement can be found below.

TOKYO—November 11, 2010—Apple® today announced that movies are now available on the iTunes Store® in Japan giving customers an incredible way to enjoy movies on their iPhone®, iPad™, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC, or with the new Apple TV® on their HD TV.

Over 1,000 movies are currently available to rent or buy in high definition and standard definition through the Japanese iTunes Store, Apple confirmed.

According to the report, film studios include:

- 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Universal Pictures;

- and top Japanese studios including Asmik Ace Entertainment Inc., Fuji TV, Kadakowa Pictures, Nikkatsu, Shochiku Company Limited and Toei Company Limited.

“With iTunes’ legendary ease of use, discovering and watching movies is as simple and easy as buying music on iTunes has always been,” Apple states.

The Mac maker mentions a few attractive titles to build up interest in the service, including Hollywood productions like “Toy Story 3” and “Sex and the City 2,” as well as Japanese favorites including “Ototo,” “Gekijôban Kamen Raidâ Dikeido: Ôru Raidâ tai Daishokkâ” and “Odoru Daisousasen THE MOVIE 2.”

Apple explains that Japanese customers looking to watch content throgh iTunes Movie Rentals will see the movie immediately downloading from the iTunes Store directly to iTunes or Apple TV once the make the purchase.

“Users with a fast Internet connection can start viewing the movie in seconds,” the company explains.

As everywhere else in the world, customers have up to 30 days to start watching their movie. Once they hit the play button, customers have 48 hours to finish watching, or watch multiple times.

Apple’s official report also mentions that the company’s new set-top box started shipping in Japan this week.

The second generation Apple TV “offers the simplest way to watch HD movies on an HD TV and users can also enjoy millions of YouTube videos, more than 200,000 podcasts, 4,000 Internet radio stations and personal photos from MobileMe and Flickr, while music, videos and photos can be streamed from Macs and PCs,” Apple claims.

For more details, including pricing information, see Apple’s official announcement here.