Apple opens iOS to third-party app stores in Japan

Apple has announced the changes it’s making to the iOS App Store in Japan in order to comply with recent legislation in the country. It will allow third-party app stores and payment processing options, though is introducing new commission fees for those transactions.

Developers in Japan will now be able to distribute apps on alternative app stores, much like in the EU, with AltStore PAL already expecting to launch in the country before the year’s end. As in Europe, Apple will collect a 5 percent commission for in-app purchases made in third-party stores.

App Store apps will also now be permitted to use alternative payment options alongside Apple’s, or link out to websites where users can make purchases. Apple will still charge up to 21 percent per transaction for in-app purchases, with a 15 percent commission for digital goods bought through a website linked from the app.

Apple will include warnings to users when using third-party stores or alternative payment options. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney pointed to those warnings, and Apple’s commission fees, when confirming that Fortnite won’t yet return to iOS in Japan. Similar warnings and fees have been at issue in the US, where Apple recently lost an appeal in its ongoing antitrust dispute with Epic.