Apple has updated iBooks to version 3.1. The new version brings support for paid books in Japan, and also enhanced support for Asian languages.
The iBookstore in Japan now contains hundreds of thousands of books available for purchase, including fiction, manga, light novels and more.
AllThingsD reported in January that Apple was talking with Japanese publishers in an attempt to work out deals for the iBookstore, which lacked local Japanese content from the beginning. The store in Japan has, until now, consisted of mostly public domain content.
iBooks is available FREE for the iPad and iPhone in the App Store. [DIRECT LINK]
