Japan Passes Law to Allow Third-Party App Stores on the iPhone

New legislation in Japan requires Apple to allow third-party app stores and payment providers on the iPhone.

apple japan new year promotion 2022
The Japanese parliament has passed the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software, a law that compels Apple to allow access to third-party app stores and payment providers on devices that run iOS. The legislation, which was passed by Japan's upper house and will be enforced following Cabinet approval within the next eighteen months, seeks to curb the dominance of major tech firms like Apple in the smartphone market.

The law requires Apple to make several significant changes to its business practices. The company will have to permit third-party app stores on its devices, just like it does in the EU. App developers will be allowed to use third-party payment services. There are also provisions to allow users to change default settings via new choice screens during setup, such as for selecting a default browser.

Apple will be forbidden from giving its own services preferential treatment in search results without a justifiable reason. The law also prohibits the use of data acquired about competing software to benefit its own apps. Additionally, the law requires that third-party developers have access to the same features as Apple's own apps and services, such as NFC for contactless payments.

Failure to comply with these new regulations could lead to fines amounting to 20 percent of relevant turnover, with the figure increasing to 30 percent for repeat offenses. In a statement to The Verge, Apple said:

The Japanese government made a number of changes to the legislation that will help protect user privacy, data security, innovation, and our intellectual property. We will continue our engagement with the JFTC during the implementation period as we remain concerned about how the law will impact Japanese consumers and the secure and private iPhone experience our users have come to expect.

The law is expected to be fully implemented by the end of 2025. Epic Games has already announced plans to bring Fortnite and its game store platform to iOS in Japan by late 2025.

Japan's move follows a trend of international legislative efforts aimed at regulating the dominance of major tech companies. The European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill are similar initiatives designed to foster competition and prevent monopolistic practices. Various antitrust cases in the United States are also targeting similar issues.

Tag: Japan

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Apple One Apps Feature 2

Apple One's Best Plan Now Includes Two More Perks For Free

Monday March 10, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. Over the last month, the highest-end ‌Apple One‌ Premier plan has gained two additional perks. Here is what Apple One Premier already included, for $37.95 per month:Apple Music Apple TV+ Apple Arcade Apple News+ Apple Fitness+...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
iOS 18

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new...
iphone 17 mockups idevicehelp

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Monday March 10, 2025 4:41 am PDT by
YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.2 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Monday March 10, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple employees are internally testing iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released in the next week or two. iOS 18.3.2 will be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Don't expect any new features. iOS 18.3.2 will be an interim...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3.2 With Bug Fixes

Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:33 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.2 and iOS 18.3.2 come a month after Apple released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release...

Top Rated Comments

brofkand Avatar
10 months ago
The house of cards is falling down...
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
10 months ago
Meanwhile, in the same Japan...
Modding game console is illegal by saying it violates the work of the game companies, but they are compelling the smartphone companies to open up their work to outside.
hm...hypocrite much?
https://kotaku.com/game-modding-illegal-in-japan-punishable-by-prison-and-1831525943
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xavier Avatar
10 months ago
Again, if you don't want to use an alternate app store, then don't. Having a choice? I think thats ok.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazmac Avatar
10 months ago

Again, if you don't want to use an alternate app store, then don't. Having a choice? I think thats ok.
I can't believe people keep parroting this...

What happens when an app you already own decides to join the Epic, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Steam, etc store via an exclusive distribution agreement? Exclusive agreement meaning they will remove their app from the Apple store.

I will tell you... you will be forced to either abandon an app you already paid for or you will be forced to join another store. Soon users will have an app store account for all of the above which is yet another way for them to hoover your data.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
john123 Avatar
10 months ago

Oh my god! Other government intervention? When can governments just mind their own business? Let free market to decide! Big government at its finest, forcing its will to beloved corporation!

What government doesn’t understand is corporation is for its people, not for profit! Only Apple knows what is best for its users!

I hate this! Apple should get out of Japan ASAP, just like how they did in Europe, oh wait…
I legit can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not…
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aoligei Avatar
10 months ago
Yes! Other hole in the walled garden.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)