Japan sets guidelines targeting tech giants dominating app market
The core of the guidelines issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission is a ban on discriminatory treatment of app stores not operated by the two platform companies. If more app stores compete and lower the commissions they charge developers, app prices for users could also fall, analysts said.
Apple and Google account for over 90 percent of Japan's smartphone operating system market. Currently, app purchases and usage fee payments are effectively limited to the official stores of the two firms, restricting competition in the industry.
According to a private research company, Japan's domestic app market in 2024 was valued at about 2.4 trillion yen ($16.2 billion) from in-app purchases alone.
Opposing the guidelines, Apple said the regulations not only undermine privacy and security but also force it to provide its technology and services to competitors free of charge, potentially creating new risks.
In 2024, Japan's parliament enacted a law to regulate smartphone app stores with the aim of promoting easier market access for third-party developers, with the legislation scheduled to take full effect in December.
The new law will require that app developers be given access to OS functions like voice calls and biometric authentication. Some functions, such as email, are now restricted from connecting with external devices like smartwatches.
The guidelines, finalized after the commission solicited public comments between May and June, listed 100 specific examples of violations, including setting additional screening criteria for certain app stores.
© KYODO
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Apple profit beats forecasts on strong iPhone sales
Apple says it recently shipped its 3 billionth iPhone since the lifestyle changing smartphones debuted in 2007 By Glenn Chapman Apple on Thursday reported quarterly profit of $23.4 billion, topping forecasts despite concerns about the effect of US tariffs on its supply chain. Revenue was $94 billion for the usually slow quarter ending in June, the iPhone maker said. "Apple is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic segment," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook. Apple shares were up more than two percent in after-market trading. Revenue from iPhone sales during the quarter was $44.6 billion, compared with $39.3 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Apple. Global shipments of smartphones fell marginally to 288.9 million units in the recently-ended quarter, according to market-tracker Canalys. Samsung was the largest vendor, shipping 57.5 million smartphones, while Apple finished second with iPhone shipments down two percent at 44.8 million units, Canalys reported. "Apple's performance showed strong resilience amid fierce competition in China and an inventory correction in the US as it adjusted to the rapidly changing tariffs," the market tracker said in its findings. Cook said that the Trump tariffs cost Apple $800 million in the quarter that just ended and are expected to cost the iPhone maker $1.1 billion in the current quarter. "Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter, and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add about $1.1 billion to our costs," Cook said. Tariffs are essentially a tax paid by those importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad. More in US Cook said that most iPhones sold in the United States now come from India as Apple works to navigate US President Donald Trump's trade war with China. Trump has taken aim at India with a 25 percent duty to begin Friday -- slightly lower than previously threatened -- after talks between Washington and New Delhi failed to bring about a trade pact. Apple's tariff cost is up because sales are up, according to Cook. "In terms of what we do to mitigate, we obviously try to optimize our our supply chain," Cook said of managing the tariff hit. "Ultimately, we will do more in the United States; we've committed $500 billion investment in the US over the next four years." Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen hefty US levies imposed on China, with Beijing setting retaliatory barriers on US imports. Sales of iPhones in mainland China were $15.4 billion in the quarter, compared with $14.7 billion in the same period a year ago, according to Apple. Revenue in Apple's services business selling digital content and subscriptions to fans of its devices grew to $27.4 billion in the quarter, Apple reported. "The results show that Apple's iPhone strategy is working to offset the impact of looming challenges with AI development timelines, tariff pressures, and Google's antitrust issues," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne. "The company's successful pivot to iPhone manufacturing in India, demonstrates supply chain flexibility, while its return to iPhone growth in China and continued services segment expansion, including deeper financial services offerings, show diversification beyond hardware." © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Google must open Android to rival app stores: U.S. court
The online shop managed by Epic Games could be heading for Google's Play Store after a US appeals court sided with the Fortnite maker A US federal court ruled Thursday that Google must open its Android operating system to rival app stores, after the internet giant lost an appeal in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games. The ruling clears the way for the Epic Games shop to operate within the Google Play Store despite the latter's requirement that apps use Google's payment system, which collects commissions on transactions. US Ninth Circuit Court Judge Margaret McKeown said in an opinion that a panel of justices decided to uphold the original verdict because the initial ruling's parameters were "supported by the record and the nature of the market." Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney fired off a post on X declaring: "Total victory in the Epic v Google appeal!" Google will continue its appeal of the December 2023 verdict, with the next venue being the US Supreme Court, according to the company's global head of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland. "This decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem," Mulholland said in response to an AFP inquiry. "Our top priority remains protecting our users, developers and partners, and maintaining a secure platform as we continue our appeal." Internet rights advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argued in a brief filed in the case that "competition rather than monopoly will make users more safe." "Google and other tech giants offer 'feudal security' in which users must depend on the whims of a monopolist to guarantee their safety," the EFF said in an online post. The EFF argued that the initial judge's order promises to level the playing field in the Android operating system for rival app stores, including some with better vetting and curation policies. The judge's order resulted from Google's defeat in an antitrust case brought by Epic, where a California jury decided that Google wields illegal monopoly power through its Android Play Store. A similar legal battle has played out between Epic and Apple regarding its App Store. Shortly after Fortnite's launch on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, Epic embedded secret code into the game's software so that players could bypass the tech giants' payment-processing systems, thereby avoiding commissions of up to 30 percent, the court noted. Epic dubbed the circumvention scheme "Project Liberty" as part of a protest against tight control of the main shops for smartphone digital content. Fortnite returned to Apple's App Store in the United States in May after being sidelined for years due to a legal battle with the iPhone maker. North Carolina-based Epic has faced off against Apple in US courts since 2021, when Fortnite was banned from the App Store over what Apple said was an attempt to get around the iPhone maker's payment system. Apple is appealing aspects of the outcome of that case despite a judge ruling the App Store is not a monopoly. © 2025 AFP
Nikkei Asia
3 days ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump's India tariffs take shine off country as electronics base
IPhone models on display at the Apple store in Mumbai. Apple is among the companies considering an expansion of electronics manufacturing in India with a view to exporting goods to the U.S. © AP SAYAN CHAKRABORTY BENGALURU -- The steep U.S. tariffs on India announced Wednesday could take some shine off the South Asian nation's appeal as an alternative to China for electronics manufacturing, with the move coming at a time when several companies, including Apple, are considering expansion in India. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports, higher than the 15% levy on Japan and South Korea and the 20% tax on Vietnam. That was also just one percentage point lower than the initial "reciprocal" levy on Indian imports that Trump revealed on April 2, and represents a sharp jump from the 10% near-blanket rate that he subsequently switched to.
