UPDATED In what turned out to be quite a short race, Apple has beat its competitors to the Japanese music market with the launch of a new iTunes Music Store. One million songs will be priced between 150 and 200 yen, and include tracks from the region's top local artists. The Japan store will also feature Japanese language podcasts.

"We are thrilled to be bringing the iTunes Music Store to Japan, and hope music fans here love it as much as others around the world do," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement. Apple on Thursday also announced that iTunes is now featuring the complete digital music catalog of the Rolling Stones - following in the footsteps of Real's Rhapsody, which has offered the collection since August 2003. The Stones' new album "A Bigger Bang" is available for pre-order on iTunes with included bonus video.