Apple opens up its App Store to competition in Japan

Apple announced it will allow alternative app stores in Japan and will permit developers to process payments for digital goods and services outside of its own in-app purchase system in iOS. The iPhone maker is not making these changes because it wants to be more open; it’s being forced — in this case, to comply with the country’s Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which is now going into effect.

With this update, Apple’s App Store revenues are being impacted in another major market due to anticompetition laws and regulations. The company already has to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which previously required the tech giant to allow for alternative app stores and other changes.

In the U.S., Apple has been strong-armed into changing its in-payments system by way of the courts, after a lawsuit from Fortnite maker, Epic Games. Though it was not declared a monopoly, the court decided Apple needed to give developers the right to process payments outside of its system if they chose. (The specifics around that order are still being worked out after an appeal partially reversed an earlier ruling.)

As usual, in its announcement about the changes in Japan, Apple warned that alternative app marketplaces and payments open up “new avenues for malware, fraud, scams, and privacy and security risks.” To mitigate those risks, the company said it worked with Japanese regulators to require an authorization process for app marketplaces (“Notarization”), which it says is designed to protect children specifically from inappropriate content and scams.

The fact that Apple has come up with a process to dial back the risk for alternative app stores indicates there has always been a technical solution at hand to balance the needs for both openness and security.

As in the EU, Apple has come up with a complex fee structure to ensure it doesn’t lose much in the form of App Store revenue, while seemingly complying with the letter of the law.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, of course, was not silent on this matter, saying Fortnite will still not return to iOS in Japan because Apple is charging a 21% fee on third-party in-app purchases.

In a post on X, he wrote, “Apple was required to open up iOS to competing stores today, and instead of doing so honestly, they have launched another travesty of obstruction and lawbreaking in gross disrespect to the government and people of Japan. Apple chose poorly. Again.”

He also pointed out the difference between Apple and other game store providers, like Microsoft, by asking, “Can you imagine the gamer and regulator uproar that would ensue if Microsoft required all games from Steam and Epic Games Store to call its commerce surveillance API and report all transactions back to Microsoft?”

“That’s what Apple just announced in Japan,” he added.

Apple noted that developers will need to agree to the latest update to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, which includes the new options for Japan, by March 17, 2026.