Amazon.com Inc.

10/28/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/28/2026 09:22

Alexa+ arrives in Japan as Amazon's next-generation AI assistant expands internationally

Key takeaways

  • Alexa+ began rolling out in Japan on October 29, 2026 as part of an Early Access program.
  • The new Alexa is conversational, deeply personal, and designed to take action in the real world.
  • Alexa+ in Japan will be free for eligible customers during Early Access.
  • After that, it's free for Prime members or costs ¥3,000 per month for non-members.
Alexa+, Amazon's next-generation AI assistant, has arrived in Japan.
Over the past months, we've brought it to the U.S., UK, Canada, Mexico, India, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Brazil, France, and Australia. We'll also expand Alexa+ to more than 10 additional countries in 2027.

Alexa+ now available in Japan

Starting October 29, Alexa+ will be available across Japan. Customers can visit amazon.co.jp/newalexa to request Early Access.

Introducing Alexa+, the next generation of Alexa

Powered by generative AI, Alexa+ is your personal AI assistant that gets things done-she's smarter, more conversational, more capable, and free with Prime.

Over the last three years, Japanese customers have interacted with Alexa nearly 30 billion times. In the last 12 months alone, they've asked over 410 million questions, they've checked the weather over 270 million times, and performed over 2.6 billion smart home actions through Alexa.
Alexa+ is not just smarter, but genuinely capable of getting things done for customers in the real world. Shopping. Music discovery. Schedule management. Meal planning. Smart home. Alexa+ handles it all through natural conversation, with restaurant bookings, food delivery, and more planned for the future in Japan.

What makes Alexa+ different?

Alexa+ stands out from other AI assistants. First, it has ambient intelligence: Alexa+ is there when you need it and fades into the background when you don't.
To be truly ambient, Alexa+ operates throughout the day across your devices-it's not sitting in a chat window waiting for a prompt. It's there when you are rushing out of the door with your hands full, when you are coming home from work thinking about everything that needs to get done, or in the kitchen when you are making dinner catching up with family.

How Amazon rebuilt Alexa with generative AI

Inventing Alexa+ required a series of technical breakthroughs, from getting LLMs to orchestrate APIs reliably to creating all-new agentic capabilities.

You can talk to Alexa+ naturally, easily change topics, and you don't need to repeat the wake word every time. Alexa+ can answer a wide range of questions, help with complex tasks, and remembers the context of conversations so you can seamlessly pick up wherever you left off-whether on an Echo device, Fire TV, in the Alexa app, or on a browser (available depending on location).
It's also deeply personal, learning your preferences, understanding your household's routines, and adapting to your life. Alexa+ recognizes family members and learns about their tastes and habits, personalizing recommendations based on them. It can remember information you choose to share-like a particular music style, which sports team you follow, or a food preference-and recommend dishes and recipes based on that. The more you interact with Alexa+, the more it gets to know you, and the more useful it becomes.
Arguably, the biggest difference is that Alexa+ is designed to act in the real world. Alexa+ doesn't just give you information; it works with services customers know and love to take care of tasks for you, from ordering a present for your mother's birthday to ordering theater tickets.

How does Alexa+ feel authentically local?

Alexa+ has been built to ensure it feels authentically local, understanding not just language but the culture too.
Alexa+ is rooted in Japanese culture. It understands Japanese customs and humor and is well-versed in Japanese music, cuisine, and culture. From seasonal events like New Year's and cherry blossom viewing, to local news and everyday topics, Alexa+ converses as if it grew up in Japan.
Alexa engineers, linguists, and speech scientists worked with local teams who understand customers in Japan, using different techniques-such as reinforcement learning, accent-neutral speech representations, and regional embeddings-to make sure Alexa+ genuinely understands global customers.
Bringing Alexa+ to Japan means deeply understanding how customers in Japan actually communicate-not just the words, but the unspoken meaning behind them. Japan has a culture of "reading the air" (kūki wo yomu), where context matters as much as language. A single word like daijōbu can mean "I'm fine," "yes, please," or "no, thank you"-and getting it wrong changes everything. Even the word "you"-anata, kimi, or omae-carries entirely different levels of politeness and nuance.
Alexa+ is built to be aware of these subtleties. She recognizes the difference between casual and formal speech, is learning when and how to use keigo, and picks up on the kind of context that only someone familiar with daily life in Japan would catch-from seasonal greetings that shift with the calendar, to the regional pride behind local cuisine. Getting these details right is what makes the difference between feeling understood and feeling like you're talking to a foreign system.
The Alexa team has ensured she understands local nuances no matter where she is in the world. In the UK for example, Alexa+ knows what a "cuppa" is, will understand what you mean when you say you are "knackered," and knows that "it's nippy" means it's chilly outside. In Germany, when customers ask for a recipe for Brötchen, Schrippen, or Semmeln, Alexa+ knows exactly what to provide. In France, Alexa+ knows everything about the debate between pain au chocolat and chocolatine, as well as that putting ice cubes in wine is taboo except if it's in a big glass of rosé on a hot summer day.
Alexa+ also features a new voice that's more natural and expressive.

What can Alexa+ do?

Most AI tools live in a tab on your browser or in an app on your phone, only providing you with information-it is then up to you to take the next step and act.
Alexa+ is different. She can do things for you from beginning to end, such as organize your calendar, order a gift for your mom's birthday, or plan a holiday.
To do this, Alexa+ works with thousands of services and devices customers use every single day. In Japan, new partner integrations are planned to roll out over time, allowing customers to book restaurants through Restaurant Reservations powered by Tabelog, order food from Uber Eats and Demae-can, and purchase tickets through Ticket Pia.
With Alexa+, Japanese customers will stay informed with news from reputable sources like Kyodo News.

Building a global Alexa+: How Amazon is teaching AI to understand culture, not just language

Launching Alexa+ in Mexico marked the assistant's first foray beyond English-and revealed just how much work goes into teaching an AI the difference between speaking a language and truly belonging to a culture.

Elsewhere in the world, partners include OpenTable in the UK and TheFork in Spain. Meanwhile, in Germany, new services will arrive during the year including Kinoheld, GMX, and Web.de.
Australian customers can stay informed on all the latest news from ABC, Sky News/News24, and go deeper into topics with The Guardian, AAP, The Associated Press, and Reuters.
Meanwhile, if you want to build the perfect smart home experience, Alexa+ makes it simple, proactive, and intuitive. You can control multiple smart devices with a single request, create Routines using just your voice, and Alexa+ will even infer what you mean without an explicit ask-like knowing to adjust the temperature if you say you're cold, or to dim the lights if you say it's too bright.

How can Japanese and international customers try Alexa+?

Alexa+ in the UK, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Australia, India, and Japan has rolled out with an Early Access program that is free for eligible customers.
In Canada, the Early Access period has ended meaning it is now fully available across the country in both French and English, costing $27.99 CAD per month plus tax unless you are a Prime member, where there is no additional cost.
There are two ways to access this new experience in countries where Alexa+ is available via the Early Access program. You can either purchase a new eligible Echo device-or Fire TV in Japan-or, if you already have a compatible device, register online to receive an invite. Customers in Japan will receive invitations on a rolling basis or they can visit amazon.co.jp/newalexa to request Early Access.
After each Early Access program ends in these countries, Alexa+ will be available as outlined below for each country.

Alexa+ Japan

Alexa+ began rolling out in Japan on October 29, 2026, as part of an Early Access program. After Early Access ends, Alexa+ will be priced at ¥3,000 per month. However, Prime members can use Alexa+ at no additional cost as part of their Amazon Prime benefits.

Alexa+ India


Alexa+ began rolling out in India on September 16, 2026 as part of an Early Access program which is free for all users. After Early Access, Alexa+ will stay free for Prime plan members. For Prime Lite, Prime Shopping Edition plan members, and all non-Prime customers, Alexa+ access will not auto-renew and will be available as a standalone subscription for INR 2,000/month.

Alexa+ Australia

Alexa+ begins rolling out in Australia on August 6, 2026 as part of an Early Access program. During Early Access, Alexa+ will be free. After the program ends, Alexa+ will be included as an Amazon Prime benefit. For non-Prime members, Alexa+ will cost AU$29.99 per month.

Top features you can try on Alexa+

Alexa+ is our next-generation AI assistant that gets things done-it solves daily problems, keeps you entertained, helps you stay connected, and can converse about virtually any topic.

Alexa+ Brazil

In Brazil, Alexa+ began rolling out on June 18, 2026 as part of the Early Access program. Once that concludes, it will be included in the Prime membership at no additional cost. For customers who are not yet Prime members, it will cost R$99,90/month and include 2TB of storage on Amazon Photos.

Alexa+ France

Alexa+ started rolling out in France on May 26, 2026 with an Early Access program. After that comes to an end, it will cost €22.99 per month if you do not have an Amazon Prime membership.

Alexa+ Germany

In Germany, Alexa+ started rolling out on May 7, 2026 as part of an Early Access program. Following that, it will cost customers without a Prime subscription €22.99 per month.

Alexa+ arrives on the new Bose speakers

From playing your favorite song to discovering new artists, customers can browse music and book services hands-free on more devices with Alexa+.

Alexa+ Austria

Alongside Germany, we also launched Alexa+ in Austria. The Early Access program started on May 7, 2026. After that concludes, Alexa+ will cost €22.99 per month if you're not an Amazon Prime member.

Alexa+ Spain

The Alexa+ Early Access program started in Spain on April 23, 2026. Once that concludes, it will cost non-Prime members €22.99 per month.

Alexa+ UK

Alexa+ started rolling out in the UK on March 19, 2026 as part of the Early Access program. After that ends, it will cost £19.99 per month for those without a Prime membership.

Meet Alexa for Shopping, your personalized, agentic AI assistant on Amazon

Amazon brings together Rufus and Alexa+ to create 'Alexa for Shopping' on the Amazon Shopping app and website.

Alexa+ Canada

In Canada, the Early Access program started on November 20, 2025. That concluded on June 11 when Alexa+ became fully available in French and English costing $27.99 CAD per month for non-Prime members.

Alexa+ Mexico

The Early Access program in Mexico began on January 22, 2026. Following that, Alexa+ will cost $399 MXN per month if you're not an Amazon Prime member. 

Alexa+ Italy

For Italy, the Early Access period started on April 15, 2026. After that, Alexa+ will cost €22.99 per month for non-Prime customers.

How does Alexa+ protect customer privacy and security?

Alexa+ was designed to protect your privacy and security. It offers transparency. It puts you in control.
For example, you can review and manage your Alexa+ interactions and available settings in the Alexa Privacy dashboard. This means you can hear exactly what Alexa heard, review attachments you've shared, change how long your voice recordings are stored, and much more-all in one place, centralized and easy to find in the Alexa app and online.

For more news, visit About Amazon Japan

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. This is our story.

Devices with Alexa are also designed with multiple layers of protection, and that hasn't changed with Alexa+. You can continue to rely on camera controls and a visual indicator that lets you know when Alexa is listening to your request. To learn more, visit the Alexa Privacy Hub.

Where else is Alexa+ available?

Alexa+ is currently available to customers in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Australia, India, and Japan.
Next, discover 50 things to try with Alexa+, from smart home automation to sending emails.
Update: This article was originally published on March 18, 2026. It was updated on October 28, 2026 to reflect the launch of Alexa+ in Japan.
Amazon.com Inc. published this content on October 28, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 28, 2026 at 15:22 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]