--- title: Japan's Regulation Opens Third-Party App Stores on iOS... description: Epic Games announced Fortnite will remain unavailable on iOS in Japan despite new regulations requiring Apple to allow third-party app stores. Japan's Mobile... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-regulation-opens-third-party-app-stores-on-ios-and-android-yvtxgfd9q twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Japan's Regulation Opens Third-Party App Stores on iOS and Android | daily.dev og:description: Epic Games announced Fortnite will remain unavailable on iOS in Japan despite new regulations requiring Apple to allow third-party app stores. Japan's Mobile... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-regulation-opens-third-party-app-stores-on-ios-and-android-yvtxgfd9q og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/yvTxGfd9q.png og:image:alt: Japan's Regulation Opens Third-Party App Stores on iOS and Android og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Japan's Regulation Opens Third-Party App Stores on iOS and Android **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Epic Games announced Fortnite will remain unavailable on iOS in Japan despite new regulations requiring Apple to allow third-party app stores. Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act forces Apple to permit alternative payment methods and app distribution, but Apple's implementation includes fees up to 21% on third-party payments, 15% on web purchases, and a 5% fee on competing app store revenue. Epic Games criticizes Apple's warning screens for third-party options as anticompetitive, continuing their long-standing dispute over app store policies and payment processing control. ## Content Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has announced that 'Fortnite' will not be available on iOS devices in Japan in 2025. This decision follows Apple's adoption of new policies aligned with Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act, which go into effect on December 18. The law requires Apple to permit third-party app stores and multiple options for default web browsers and search engines on iOS devices. Despite Apple's compliance with the legislation, concerns remain over the company's fees and practices. Apple's new system will allow apps to utilize alternative payment methods, either through third-party app stores or external websites. However, developers face fees as high as 21% on third-party in-app payments and 15% on web purchases, alongside a mandatory 5% fee on revenue from competing app stores. Apple will also display warning screens when users access these third-party options, a move that Epic Games views as deliberately misleading and anticompetitive. Epic's decision to keep 'Fortnite' off iOS in Japan reflects an ongoing dispute with Apple that began over app store policies and payment processing methods. While the Japanese Fair Trade Commission anticipates that these changes will promote competition and consumer choice, the security of these new app distribution methods remains under scrutiny. To comply with Japan's law, Apple will also introduce additional measures, including app notarization, marketplace authorization, and child safety requirements. All developers in the Apple Developer Program must consent to updated license agreements by March 17, 2026. The continuation of this Epic vs. Apple saga exemplifies the tensions between tech companies over digital marketplace control and financial practices. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Apple opens up its App Store to competition in Japan](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-opens-up-its-app-store-to-competition-in-japan-j7nmf8maq) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Epic Games Store launches on iPhone in Japan](https://daily.dev/posts/epic-games-store-launches-on-iphone-in-japan-bd5bfaixl) · GamesIndustry.biz · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#mobile](https://daily.dev/tags/mobile), [#android](https://daily.dev/tags/android), [#ios](https://daily.dev/tags/ios), [#app-store](https://daily.dev/tags/app-store) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-regulation-opens-third-party-app-stores-on-ios-and-android-yvtxgfd9q) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Japan's Regulation Opens Third-Party App Stores on iOS and Android","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-regulation-opens-third-party-app-stores-on-ios-and-android-yvtxgfd9q","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-regulation-opens-third-party-app-stores-on-ios-and-android-yvtxgfd9q"},"datePublished":"2025-12-18T02:11:40.001Z","dateModified":"2025-12-19T07:37:02.765Z","description":"Epic Games announced Fortnite will remain unavailable on iOS in Japan despite new regulations requiring Apple to allow third-party app stores. Japan's Mobile...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/93a5b2b7e8663e5719d58576cc1611aa?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/93a5b2b7e8663e5719d58576cc1611aa?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Collections","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Collections","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--fk_6ycEi--/f_auto,q_auto/v1780996001/logos/collections?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/japan-s-regulation-opens-third-party-app-stores-on-ios-and-android-yvtxgfd9q","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"apple,mobile,android,ios,app-store","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Collections","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Japan's Regulation Opens Third-Party App Stores on iOS and Android"}]} ```