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Apple’s July 2026 report describes the company’s own compliance measures under Japan’s Smartphone Act; it is not a finding that Apple complied. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) says it will assess the reports and their effects. Separately, a news report says the Coalition for App Fairness complained to the JFTC about Apple’s approach, but that complaint is not a regulator’s ruling.

What Japan’s Smartphone Act covers

The formal name is the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software, Act No. 58 of 2024. Japan’s JFTC says the law aims to promote competition and innovation in software important to smartphone use while protecting security and privacy. It covers four categories: mobile operating systems, app stores, browsers, and search engines.

The Act was passed on June 12, 2024, and promulgated on June 19, 2024. The JFTC’s designation provisions took effect before the rest of the law. The Act came fully into effect on December 18, 2025.

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Which companies were designated

On March 26, 2025, the JFTC designated Apple Inc. for mobile operating systems, app stores, and browsers. It also designated iTunes K.K. for app stores and Google LLC for all four categories, including search engines. These are the designations described by the JFTC; they do not mean that every provider is subject to the same duties in every category.

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What the law requires of designated providers

The Act sets out prohibited conduct in Articles 5–9 and compliance measures in Articles 10–13. The JFTC’s July 2025 guidelines explain how it views those provisions, but the English version is identified as a tentative translation. The JFTC also cautions that its hypothetical examples are illustrative: whether the Act applies depends on the circumstances of an individual case.

That makes the relevant question more specific than whether Apple has published a report or introduced changes. An assessment needs to identify the statutory duty at issue, the measure Apple says it adopted, and how that measure works in practice. Security or privacy explanations should likewise be assessed in relation to the particular restriction or measure being considered, rather than treated as a blanket answer.

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What Apple’s compliance report establishes

The JFTC published Apple’s report on July 27, 2026, as part of its publication of designated providers’ reports for FY2025. For this reporting exercise, FY2025 covers the period from the Act’s full commencement on December 18, 2025, through March 31, 2026. The JFTC removed business secrets before publication.

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The JFTC expressly says the published reports represent the designated providers’ views, not the JFTC’s. Apple’s report therefore establishes what Apple submitted about its measures for that reporting period; publication does not certify that those measures satisfy the law, demonstrate their effects, or amount to an enforcement decision. The JFTC’s public notice does not itself resolve whether Apple complied.

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The JFTC had made the same distinction when discussing initial reports on February 18, 2026. It said it would examine effects on businesses in the four software categories and consider views collected from relevant businesses and other stakeholders. The February notice and the July publication concern different reporting stages; the July report is the one covering December 18, 2025, through March 31, 2026.

What is known about the fairness complaint

The Mac Observer reported on September 13, 2026, that the Coalition for App Fairness had submitted a complaint to the JFTC on August 21. The outlet characterized the coalition’s position as arguing that Apple’s report showed an unwillingness to comply with the Act.

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The complaint itself and an official JFTC response are not established by the information available through October 7, 2026. Its precise wording, signatories, supporting evidence, requested remedies, and any subsequent action by the JFTC should not be inferred from the news account. Treat the reported complaint as an allegation attributed to the coalition, not as a proven violation or a conclusion endorsed by the regulator.

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Has the JFTC ruled that Apple violated the law?

The notices described here do not report a JFTC finding that Apple violated the Act. The JFTC published company reports, invited further information and opinions about those reports and the law’s market effects, and said it would assess the material. It also maintains a separate channel for reporting suspected statutory violations. The JFTC says that submitting information does not guarantee the action a submitter wants.

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An invitation for feedback is not, by itself, an investigation finding or enforcement action. Likewise, a complaint—whether or not it prompts further scrutiny—is not proof that a legal violation occurred.

How to judge future claims about compliance

For any later JFTC decision, company update, or account of the coalition’s complaint, check the following before drawing a conclusion:

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  • Identify the duty. Which provision of the Act is said to apply, and to which designated provider and software category?
  • Separate claim from evidence. Is a statement Apple’s own description, a developer’s account, a coalition allegation, or a JFTC finding?
  • Check how the measure works. What does the provider say it changed, and what evidence or stakeholder experience shows its practical effect?
  • Assess the stated rationale. If security or privacy is offered as a reason, is the explanation specific to the measure and the circumstances?
  • Look for the regulator’s conclusion. A report, comment invitation, or complaint should not be described as a decision unless the JFTC has actually made one.

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