A small update to iBooks on Tuesday has some pretty big implications for Apple customers in Japan: with iBooks 3.1 they can now purchase ebooks rather than just download free or public domain content.

The update notes for 3.1 say, “The iBookstore in Japan now has hundreds of thousands of books available for purchase, including fiction, manga, light novels and more.” In addition, the update says there are reading improvements for “a number of Asian languages,” though the specific languages are not specified.

This move was foreshadowed earlier this year. Both The Nikkei in Japan and AllThingsD reported in early January that Apple had signed distribution deals with three big Japanese publishers.

The iBooks update is out now and can be downloaded via the App Store.

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