The wait is over for ‘Pokemon Go’ fans in Japan

In this Tuesday, July 12, 2016, file photo, Pinsir, a Pokemon, is found by a group of Pokemon Go players at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami as the “Pokemon Go” craze has sent legions of players hiking around cities and battling with “pocket monsters” on their smartphones. Nintendo suffered as a latecomer to smartphone games but is seeing the deep wealth of its franchise characters pay off with the success of “Pokemon Go,” even without a launch yet in Japan. The Japanese game maker was starting to look like a casualty of history until the game was launched in the U.S. earlier this month. Not anymore. AP FILE PHOTO

TOKYO — The wait is over for “Pokemon Go” fans in Japan.

Japanese media and users on Twitter said Friday that “Pokemon Go” has been launched in the country of the character’s birth. People started tweeting Friday morning about the game being available. An AP reporter was able to capture a Pokemon character on a colleague’s chair.

The game was initially available for android smart phones but not immediately for download in the Japanese Apple app store. It appeared in the Apple store about 30 minutes later.

READ: No ‘Pokemon Go’ yet in Japan, but government already worried

“Pokemon Go” is expected to be a huge hit in Japan. Fans have been eagerly awaiting its release since it first came out more than two weeks ago in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and then spread to more than 20 countries.

RELATED STORIES

Catch love with PokéDates, Pokémon Go-inspired matchmaking site

Pokémon Go to kick off in Asia, Europe ‘in a few days’