Japan To Investigate Apple, Google Antitrust Claims

Japan is looking into Apple and Google ‘s alleged chokehold over the mobile marketplace, following the lead of both South Korea and the state of California earlier this year.

The investigation is being conducted by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), and will look into how competition has remained static for so long in Japan for both Apple and Google.

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It won’t just be limited to the mobile market, as the investigation will also look at the smartwatch and other wearables and the possibility of static developments in the platform.

Here’s the description of the investigation, courtesy of Nikkei Asia:

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The antitrust watchdog will compile a report outlining OS market structure and the reason why competition has remained static. The commission will work with the central government’s Digital Market Competition Council, which is moving forward with its own market probe.

Practices found to be anticompetitive will be itemized in the report, along with possible violations of Japan’s law against monopolies.

The year has been full of regulatory bodies staring into the mobile market and how it operates. With the market continuing to grow every year, it makes sense that they’d want to make sure everything was above board.

The complaints mainly come from the fact that every phone either runs the iOS App Store or Google Play store, with no way of installing third-party storefronts on the former.