Google says may launch video service in Japan

"We haven't yet been able to introduce Google Video in Japan, and hope to do so soon," Google Japan's President Norio Murakami said during a conference in Tokyo. "Going forward, Google's services can't work without cooperation from contents partners."

Murakami said video was the next step for Google in Japan, following the company's online news and book searches.

Google Video, a free service launched this year in the United States, lets users search, watch and buy television shows, music videos and other clips submitted by both companies and individuals.

Yahoo Japan Corp., the country's biggest portal site, already offers a free video search engine.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, is trying to expand its services such as video and map searches beyond the United States. More than half of the traffic to Google.com comes from outside its home country.