Japan finalizes app store rules, tells Apple and Google to allow third party billing and app stores
Kai Tanaka ·
Japan’s competition and telecom regulators on Wednesday published final guidelines that force Apple and Google to open iOS and Android to third party billing and alternative app stores in Japan. The Japan Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released the rules in Tokyo on July 15, initiating a staged compliance timeline under the law the Diet passed in 2024 to promote competition in smartphone ecosystems.
The guidelines matter because Japan is one of Apple’s most important markets by revenue and user spend. iOS holds a majority share of new smartphone sales in Japan according to Counterpoint and IDC, and data.ai ranks Japan among the top global markets for App Store consumer spending.
Regulators said the rules apply to designated “specified providers” of mobile operating systems, app stores, browsers, and search services that meet size thresholds. Covered firms must permit in app links to external payment options, allow developers to use third party billing, and accept rival app stores on their platforms in Japan.
The document also requires neutral device setup with choice screens for default browsers and search engines. It mandates transparency for app review, including published timelines and appeal processes, and bars anti steering clauses that restrict developers from informing users about off platform offers.
Apple and Google were notified to file compliance programs within a set window that begins this quarter. The JFTC will lead investigations and corrective orders, and MIC will supervise telecom related provisions, with significant administrative fines available for violations.
Domestic platform companies, including Rakuten, Mercari, LINE Yahoo, and major game publishers such as Mixi and DeNA, have pushed for lower take rates and more payment options. Japan’s mobile carriers, NTT Docomo and KDDI among them, gain room to revive distribution and billing that predate today’s dominant app stores.
The law follows multi year recommendations from the Cabinet’s Digital Market Competition authorities and mirrors some elements of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. It goes further in areas tailored to Japan’s market structure, including detailed disclosures around app review and consumer choice presentation.
For global tech firms, Japan’s move adds a second large non EU jurisdiction with operational rules that dilute closed mobile ecosystems. Developers and payment providers get new leverage in Asia, and regulators in South Korea, Australia, and India now have a fresh template to reference as they update their own platform rules.