Apple and Google have suffered repeated setbacks in the antitrust arena in recent years.。In Europe and the United States, the monopoly of the two giants has been brought to court many times.。And now, Japan's anti-monopoly voice is becoming more and more intense。

Japan is working on regulations requiring tech giants such as Apple and Google to allow third-party app stores to make payments on their mobile operating systems to curb their abuse of their dominant position in the Japanese market.。

It is understood that the regulation is expected to be submitted to the Japanese Diet in 2024 to restrict platform operators from retaining users in their own ecosystem and shutting out competitors.。The regulations focus on four main areas: app stores and payments, search, browsers, and operating systems.。

Under the regulation, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has the power to impose fines on offending businesses.。If the current anti-monopoly law is used as a template, the amount of the fine is generally about 6% of the revenue from the problem business, with details to be finalized next spring.。

Japanese media revealed that the Japanese government will determine the scope of application of the regulations based on criteria such as sales and user size。Currently, it is expected that multinational giants such as Apple and Google will be affected, and Japanese companies are unlikely to be affected.。

Currently, Apple does not allow apps to be downloaded to the iPhone through channels other than its own App Store, and in-app payments must go through Apple's operating system, with a maximum 30% commission.。Google, despite allowing third-party app distribution platforms, still requires apps to use Google's own payment system。

As a result, this effective monopoly on in-app payments leads users to pay more for the same content or service on mobile devices than on PCs。

The Japanese government argues that this model solidifies these companies' dominance in the mobile market, so legislation forces them to be compatible with third-party app stores and payment systems.。After that, Japanese companies will be able to operate dedicated game stores on iOS devices and use the lower-cost payment system offered by Japanese fintech companies.。

Japan's mobile app market will expand to $29.2 billion in 2023, up about 50 percent from 2018, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.。

The proposed regulation also includes search-related provisions, such as prohibiting search engine operators from offering preferential treatment for their own services.。For example, Google is prohibited from forcibly placing its airline ticket or restaurant reservation service at the top of search results.。

It is clear that this regulation in Japan refers to the European Union's Digital Market Act (DMA).。The bill, which will be fully implemented in 2024, prohibits "gatekeepers" (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft) from favoring their businesses in search results, with violators fined up to 10 per cent of their global turnover in the previous fiscal year.。

Google has agreed to pay a $700 million settlement in an antitrust case involving its app store.。