TOKYO, JAPAN – The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) hosted an event in Tokyo this week with business leaders and policymakers to discuss the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act (SSCPA). The event highlighted the challenges and timeline leading up to the enforcement of the SSCPA, the law’s influence on the Japanese economy broadly, and the impact on domestic app store operators and local businesses more specifically.
The Japanese government will soon designate platform operators to be regulated and convene discussions on relevant guidelines, moving toward enforcement. The Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) confirmed on December 10 that operating services, app stores, browsers, and search engines with over 40 million monthly active users criteria would become designated operators.
During the event, the audience heard from influential panelists and participants, who raised the following:
“As Chief Director of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry, passing the SSCPA was a challenging process,” said Yohei Matsumoto, House of Representatives, Chief Director of the Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry. “The SSCPA was passed as an exception through special deliberations in the Diet. I hope businesses will recognize our efforts to promote fair competition, drive innovation, and offer more choices, and that they will make the most of the SSCPA.”
“The benefits of the SSCPA extend to Japan’s entire startup ecosystem,” said Noriaki Yoshikawa, VP of Public Policy and Public Relations, Mercari. “It will not only revitalize the startup ecosystem; it will also positively impact the broader Japanese economy.”
“I am very hopeful of the new businesses that could emerge with the SSCPA,” said Ryota Inaba,  Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Research for Digital Markets, Japan Fair Trade Commission. “The JFTC will work to ensure the SSCPA will be implemented effectively, but its success will ultimately depend on how businesses leverage it. We hope they will use it to create new opportunities and innovations.”
“The idea that there are measures in place to ensure the security/privacy of users have been false. We would encourage regulators to be skeptical, and consider whether these steps are necessary to ensure integrity of phone,” said Corie Wright, Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy at Epic Games. “Consumer trust is paramount to being successful in this business. Anyone that cannot demonstrate that they are ensuring a safe app experience will fail.”
“Low fees and diverse business models are the catalysts for innovation” said Masataka Kishihara, Mobile Content Forum.
“This is an exciting time to open competition moving forwards, and Japan is at the forefront of those efforts…the opportunity is immense for countries that get it right,” said Gene Burrus, Global Policy Counsel, The Coalition for App Fairness. “ The SSCPA enables businesses to invest in new technologies without facing regulatory uncertainty and overcome past barriers that hindered growth.”
The SSCPA was designed to create an environment where all market players can fairly benefit from the growth of the digital market, but much work remains to be done. Reach out to the JFTC if you have any information on monopolistic practices in the industry here (forms in Japanese).
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The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization formed to protect consumer choice, foster competition, and create a level playing field for all app and game developers globally. Originally formed by Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, Epic Games, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Proton, Skydemon, Spotify, and Life360, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to more than 80 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.