Apple Inc. plans to open a store in Tokyo's upscale Omotesando shopping district as early as March, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Construction is scheduled to be completed by February, said the source, who is not authorized to speak for Apple and thus asked not to be identified.
It would be Apple's first opening in Tokyo since August 2005, according to the company's website, which is advertising jobs for a new store in the capital.
Takashi Takebayashi, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Apple, didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Earlier this year, the iPhone maker moved its Tokyo headquarters to the Roppongi Hills complex from Shinjuku to take advantage of lower rents. Apple has seven Japan stores.
The company is the leading smartphone seller in Japan, with the iPhone 5 being the most popular handset in the country since June 2010, according to BCN Inc., a Tokyo-based researcher.