The iTunes Movie store in the U.S.

Apple has brought its movie rental and purchasing service to Japan.

Japanese iTunes users can now buy or rent over 1,000 movies from the top Hollywood studios, like Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., as well as films from several prominent Japanese studios. Apple said yesterday that Hollywood films, like "Toy Story 3" and "Sex and the City 2," will be made available to Japanese customers.

As soon as Japanese iTunes customers decide to rent a movie, they will have 30 days to start watching it. Once the film is started, it will be viewable for 48 hours. HD rentals range from 300 yen to 500 yen for older titles and new releases, respectively. Apple said that it will cost 2,000 yen ($24.33) to purchase "catalog titles and recent releases" in HD. It plans to sell new HD releases for 2,500 yen.

With the movie service now live, Apple has been awfully busy in Japan as of late. The company started shipping its Apple TV to the country this week. It also announced earlier this week that it plans to bring its iAd advertising platform to Japan toward the beginning of 2011.