Amazon joins crowded field with Japan Kindle release

An employee demonstrates the new Kindle Fire HD 8.9'' at Amazon's Kindle Fire event in Santa Monica, California September 6, 2012.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc will make Japanese language Kindle e-readers and tablets available next month, as the U.S. online seller joins a slew of e-book makers in trying to win market share in the world's second-biggest publishing market.

Amazon began taking pre-orders on Wednesday for its Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, which starts with a price tag of 8,480 yen ($110), and Kindle Fire tablet, which has a base price of 12,800 yen ($160). Both devices will be available from November 19.

The online retailer also said it will start offering Kindle e-book titles on its Japanese website from October 25, with a selection of more than 50,000 Japanese-language titles, including books from local publishers such as Kodansha Ltd and Kadokawa Group Holding.

The launch pits Amazon against local players Rakuten Inc, which debuted its Kobo e-reader device in July, and Sony as well as Apple Inc and Google Inc, in competing for digital content market share in Japan.

(Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)