Apple Fitness+ is now available in Japan, but instead of using local trainers, and despite being one of the most wealthy companies in the world, Apple has dubbed existing workouts with AI-generated versions of the trainers' voices.

It was back in 2020 that Apple first announced its Apple Fitness+ program, and it has been slowly rolling out worldwide ever since. Now Apple has announced that it is available in Japan.

"We are very pleased to be able to deliver the Fitness+ experience to Japan," said Jay Blahnik, Apple VP of Fitness Technologies, in a translated statement. "Seamless integration with iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV makes Fitness+ makes it easy to work out and meditate anytime, anywhere."

Just as when it was launched in countries such as Singapore and Taiwan in December 2025, though, the new Japanese version uses subtitles and digitally translated audio. The AI-generated audio is trained by the original workout leaders, for what that's worth.

Apple is releasing new workouts in both dubbed and English, every week.

This use of AI-generated voices follows Apple's controversial abandoning of actors in Apple Books, which started back in 2023. There is a difference in that the trainers are not being replaced.

Users can set the Japanese and English language versions as a general preference. Or they can switch between them during the workouts.

Yet Apple could have used Japanese-speaking trainers. It could have offered the existing English workouts plus new ones made specifically for Japan.

It's understandable why it doesn't have the capacity at its Los Angeles studio to film in every language the service supports. But these workout videos are not complex productions, so Apple could surely have shot in Japan without setting up its own dedicated and permanent studio space there.

And it's not like there aren't trainers in the US that speak Japanese. To us, the use of AI here seems lazy, and unnecessary.

Japanese music and celebrities

Japan's YOASOBI musical duo is included as one of the groups in the Apple Fitness+ "Artist Spotlight" series. As with the December 2025 expansion, Apple is also spotlighting J-Pop, and K-Pop.

An edition "Time to Walk" available now features comedian and actor Naomi Watanabe. Musician and actor Tomohisa Yamashita from Apple TV's "Drops of God," will voice an edition in February 2026.

With the addition of Japan, Apple Fitness+ is now available in 49 countries and territories around the world. It's a paid workout subscription service that costs $9.99/month, $79.99/year, and is included with the Premier tier of Apple One.

Separately, Apple has recently announced its new update for 2026. It includes a new Back to Strength program, and from February 2026 will add a Bad Bunny Artist Spotlight.