Maybe not until September
[Update: Now rumors point to Japan getting Pokemon Goas early as July, and that it will launch in conjunction with help from McDonalds. Anything can happen!]
Japan, home of Pokemon, the nation that has multiplegiant real Pokemon Center with legions of fans, does not have Pokemon Go. And you know what? They might not be getting it anytime soon. Astute readers have noticed that the site conspicuously changed the Japanese release date from “July 2016” to just “2016,” and Forbes only recently found out why.
According to Niantic, the company wants to get its servers in order before it launches in that region, where it will no doubt be wildly popular. CEO John Hanke says it all, explaining, “At present, the server capacity in Japan is not powerful enough. We are working hard with our partners in Japan to enable the servers to keep up with demand once the game goes online there. We expect it to be released by the end of July.” But sources for Forbes note that this might actually be pushed into September given the complexity of the situation.
So there you have it. Most of Europe now has Pokemon Go, as do the US and Canada.But just as Metal Gear Solid 2 launched in the US several weeks before it did in Japan, the East must wait.
‘Pokémon GO’ Is Still Pokémon NO In Japan [Forbes]