Book doesn't conjure up long lines in Japan

Harry Potter fans faced much shorter lines in Japan than elsewhere to buy the English version of the seventh and final book of the series, which went on sale worldwide Saturday morning Japan time.

Mayumi Narita, reportedly the first Japanese customer to buy the book, shows off her copies at a Maruzen bookstore in Tokyo on Saturday. AP PHOTO

Only about 20 people were waiting at the Maruzen bookstore in the Marunouchi business district in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, during a countdown event hosted by American DJ Robert Habbick toward the 8:01 a.m. release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling.

Fans here are apparently waiting for the Japanese version. The translator, Yuko Matsuoka, said it will take 10 to 12 months.

"I want to finish reading it before the Japanese translated version goes on sale by looking up every other word in an electronic dictionary," Mayumi Narita, 43, of Yokohama, said at the Maruzen store. "I got hooked on the books when I bought one for my child to read."

In Osaka, a bookstore in the Shinsaibashi business district opened at 8 a.m., three hours earlier than usual, to begin selling the book. Only two people were waiting.

The 21-year-old American who was first in line said she loves the Harry Potter series and has read all of the books. The other, a 28-year-old American student, said he planned to read the latest one in a single day.