Amazon to join rivals in Japan's emerging AI speaker market

Inc. said Wednesday its smart speakers will debut in Japan starting next week. Amazon is dominant in the sector overseas, and its entry into the Japan market is expected to further fuel competition. The e-commerce giant said it will offer three Echo speaker models -- Echo, Echo Plus and Echo Dot -- priced at ¥11,980, ¥17,980 and ¥5,980, respectively. The voice-controlled devices are equipped with Alexa, Amazon's AI voice agent. "We are extremely excited to bring Echo and Alexa to Japan," said Tom Taylor, an Amazon senior vice president who overseas Alexa.