Japan

Japan is preparing antitrust legislation to force Apple to allow app sideloading and alternative payment methods for in-app purchases, Nikkei Asia reports. The plans by Japan's Fair Trade Commission focus on combating Apple and Google's dominance in app stores and payments, search, browsers, and operating systems. The regulation could encompass a wide range of changes to Apple's practices,...

Apple's App Store policies may be violating Japanese antitrust law, according to a new report from the Japan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) that was shared by Nikkei. Japanese regulators do not believe there is enough "competitive pressure" on Apple and Google as the two companies have a duopoly in mobile operating systems and dominate the app market. Japanese regulators want Apple and Google...

When Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Japan earlier this month, he met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss the App Store, Apple's investments in Japan, and iPhone features that could be adopted in the future, according to a new report from Nikkei. Kishida asked Cook to enable a digital version of Japan's My Number identification cards, which are issued to all Japanese residents....

Tim Cook today publicly paid tribute to Sony's long-term partnership with Apple in creating cutting-edge camera sensors for successive iPhone models for over a decade. In a tweet posted during his visit to Sony's camera development facility in Kumamoto, Japan, Cook acknowledged the company's successful partnership with Apple to create "the world's leading camera sensors for ‌iPhone‌," and...

Apple today increased the price of iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch models in Japan by up to 25 percent. The price hikes, first reported by Nikkei Asia, have been triggered by a fall in the value of the yen and a widening interest rate gap between Japan and the United States. The iPhone 13 previously started at 98,800 yen (~$730) in Japan, but now costs 117,800 yen (~$870), an increase of...

In iOS 15, Apple's Maps app includes the ability to use augmented reality walking directions in some big cities, and today we learn that Tokyo has become the latest place that you can use it. The AR mode can map walking directions onto the real world by using your iPhone's rear camera, making it easier to see where you need to go in built-up areas and reducing the need to look down at your...

Apple today hit back at a report from the Japanese government indicating that the company could be hit with new regulation to ensure fair competition in the smartphone operating system market, The Japan Times reports. The Japanese government's interim report expressed concern over Apple and Google's control of the smartphone operating system market, particularly with regards to pre-installed ...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced an investigation into the "duopoly" of Apple and Google on mobile ecosystems, just one day after a similar investigation was initiated in Japan. The CMA will be taking a closer look at Apple and Google's "effective duopoly" on the supply of operating systems, including iOS and Android, the App Store and Google Play Store, ...

Visa has announced that starting today, customers in Japan will be able to use their Visa debit or credit card with Apple Pay. Customers with Visa cards issued by Aplus, SMBC Finance Service, NTT DoCoMo, Credit Saison, JACCS, Mitsui Sumitomo Bank Card, and Rakuten cards will be able to add their card to their Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch. Japan has set an ambitious goal of...

According to research firm IDC (via GizChina), Apple dominated the smartphone market in Japan over the fourth quarter of 2020, with the iPhone brand accounting for over half of all phone sales in the country. As per the report, the mobile market reached 11.432 million shipments in Q4 2020, and 52.6% of all smartphone sales in Japan were iPhones, substantially contributing to a 10.6%...

Japan has followed the United States, Australia, and numerous countries around the world in preparing to heavily regulate big tech companies, including Apple, due to antitrust disputes and fears about market control (via Reuters). Japan is reportedly "laying the groundwork" to regulate big tech companies including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Kazuyuki Furuya, chairman of Japan's...

Apple's ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications on the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5 have received domestic approval and certification from Japan's medical authorities, indicating that both features should go live in the country very soon. The approval was confirmed by the Japanese Association for the Advancement of Medical Equipment (JAAME) on Friday, September 4, and subsequently...

The ongoing dispute between Apple and Epic Games has spurred complaints from Japanese game developers about Apple's App Store business model and the way it handles third-party app submissions. Bloomberg reports that some developers in the Japanese gaming market have been emboldened by the dispute and are becoming more vocal about their own concerns, which including Apple's 30% commission rate...

Apple has included an ECG function in new Apple Watch models since 2018, providing users in select territories with the ability to measure the electrical activity of their heart. Apple now appears to be ready to extend the ECG feature to Brazil and Japan, based on recent government filings. According to MacOtakara, Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) recently updated...

Apple is set to start reopening its retail stores in Japan this week after having been closed for months because of the global health crisis. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman notes that Apple's website says stores in Fukuoka and Nagoya Sakae will reopen on May 27. Reopening dates for the country's eight other Apple stores have not yet been posted. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has lifted the...

Apple has been offering certified refurbished 16-inch MacBook Pro models in the United States for a couple of weeks now, but today it started selling refurb 16-inch models through its international online stores for the first time since the notebook was released in November 2019. All of the refurbished configurations are discounted by 15 percent compared to the equivalent brand new models....

Apple's annual Back to School event launched in Japan today, with Apple offering students a gift card worth up to 18,000 yen ($165) when making a purchase. The highest gift card amount is available with the purchase of a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac Pro, or ‌iMac‌, with Apple offering 12,000 yen for iPad Pro and iPad Air models. As noted by Japanese site Mac Otakara, the educational...

Apple today announced that it will be holding a one-day New Year's shopping event in Japan on Thursday, January 2, offering customers an Apple Store gift card worth up to ¥24,000 with the purchase of select Apple products. Full details have yet to be revealed, but last year, Apple Store gift card values ranged between ¥3,000 and ¥24,000 for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been touring Tokyo, Japan over the last few days, meeting with local employees, developers, healthcare experts, and others. Cook has been documenting the trip on his Twitter account. Cook has traveled to several countries for meets and greets during his eight-year tenure as Apple CEO, including France and Germany in September. He has also visited Canada, China,...

Japan's Fair Trade Commission is investigating Apple to determine whether it pressured Japanese suppliers and abused its position of power, thereby violating antimonopoly rules, reports Reuters. The FTC in Japan surveyed Japanese companies and found that Apple had signed contracts forcing its partners to provide free technology and know-how for parts manufacturing. When one of the...