• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, August 28, 2013

Turn today announced the launch of its Japan operations as well as the appointment of Akito Sato as country manager. Sato will lead the Japan team consisting of "a few folks on the account services and business development side," a Turn representative said. Sato previously helped launch Google's programmatic advertising business in Japan while working as Strategic Business Development Manager at Google Japan.

In a statement announcing the news, Turn cited an IDC projection which said that real-time bidding (RTB) display ad spend in Japan will reach $612 million in 2014. The official launch of the Japanese operations is not Turn's first foray into the region, as the company has added operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia within the past year.

According to the release, Sato will build out the Japan team "in the next few months, adding sales engineers, account managers, and business development executives." The Turn representative said that there will be "at least half a dozen people there in the very near future."

Sato will report to Cindy Deng, managing director, Asia-Pacific, Turn.