Japan's Smartphone Act: How the World's Gacha Capital Opened Up Its App Stores

Long before the iPhone, Japanese commuters were already playing games on their phones. NTT Docomo's i-mode service, launched in 1999, turned flip phones into tiny game machines, and by the time smartphones arrived, Japan had a mobile gaming culture unlike anywhere else. Today it is home to some of the highest-earning mobile games in the world, from Monster Strike to Fate/Grand Order.

That market is now playing by new rules. Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act, nicknamed the "smartphone act" (スマホ新法), took full effect on 18 December 2025. It requires Apple and Google to allow rival app stores, alternative payment systems and links to outside offers on their mobile platforms in Japan. After the European Union, Japan became the second major market where iPhone owners can install apps from stores Apple does not run.

What the law requires

The act was passed by Japan's parliament in June 2024, and the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) designated Apple and Google as the companies it covers. Its main obligations for app stores are:

• No ban on rival app stores: designated companies cannot prevent third-party stores from operating on their platforms.
• Payment choice: developers cannot be forced to use the platform's own in-app payment system, and can link to outside offers.
• No self-preferencing: the platform must not unfairly favour its own apps and services.
• Choice screens for default browsers and search engines.

Breaking the rules can lead to surcharges of up to 20% of the relevant domestic sales, rising to 30% for repeat violations.

Apple's response

Apple announced how it would comply in December 2025, opening iOS in Japan to alternative app marketplaces and new payment options, alongside a new fee structure for developers who use them. As in Europe, Apple kept a review and security process for apps distributed outside the App Store, which it argued was needed to protect users.

Google's Android has always allowed other stores, so the change there is mostly about payments, links and how freely rival stores can operate.

What it means for gacha games

Japan's top mobile games make most of their money through gacha, paid draws for characters and items, and almost all of those payments have gone through the App Store and Google Play. Even a few percentage points of commission are worth a great deal on that scale.

Expect three things over the next few years. First, web shops: Japanese publishers can now advertise outside purchases inside their games, as many US publishers began doing in 2025 (see our web shop explainer). Second, rival stores: whether any third-party store wins Japanese players is an open question, since trust in the App Store is high. Third, regulation of gacha itself stays separate: Japan's existing consumer rules on paid random items still apply whatever store you use.

Korea and the global wave

Japan's law is part of a wider shift. The EU's Digital Markets Act has applied since March 2024 (see our DMA explainer), the UK designated Apple and Google with strategic market status in October 2025 (see our UK story), and Korea, the first country to ban forced in-app payments in 2021, fined Google and Apple 63.7 billion won in October 2026 (see our Korea story).

Why it matters

Japan matters because it is where mobile gaming makes some of its biggest money and where Apple is strongest. If rival stores and web shops gain ground there, it will be the clearest sign yet that the 30% era is ending everywhere, not just in courtrooms in California. If they do not, it will suggest that player habits, not just store rules, keep the big platforms on top.