TOKYO — The Japanese version of the Apple iPhone 4s will include the Siri personal assistant feature after all, an Apple spokesman said Thursday.

The phone, which debuts in Japan on Friday and shortly afterward on U.S. military bases in Japan, will have Siri available in English, French and German, according to Apple Japan spokesman Takashi Takebayashi. Last week, Apple Japan told Stars and Stripes the feature, which is the popular phone’s biggest selling point, would not be included.

However, Siri may not function as well as it would in the United States.

Apple promotional videos show users asking their phones questions like “What’s the traffic like around here?” and getting immediate results for the local area.

Because Siri is not yet available in Japanese, that function might not work in Japan.

However, Siri should still be able to read messages aloud, schedule meetings and conduct other personal business, using a normal rate of speech.

From staff reports

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