Japan to crack down on Apple and Google app store monopolies

Japan is preparing regulations that would require tech giants like Apple and Google to allow outside app stores and payments on their mobile operating systems, Nikkei has learned, in a bid to curb abuse of their dominant position in the Japanese market.

Legislation slated to be sent to the parliament in 2024 would restrict moves by platform operators to keep users in the operators' own ecosystems and shut out rivals, focusing mainly on four areas: app stores and payments, search, browsers, and operating systems.

Ryohei Yasoshima and Riho Nagao for Nikkei Asia

All around the world, the walls are closing in on these big tech monopolies. It's a Christmas miracle.