Japan’s developers want Apple’s fees cut to zero. Apple says that is not how ecosystems work

Apple

• Apple permits alternative app stores, payments in Japan under new competition law
• Developers say revised fees offer little incentive to leave Apple's App Store
• Industry groups urge Apple, Google to drop new external payment commissions

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Apple has rolled out alternative app stores and external payment options in Japan, mirroring changes it has already implemented in the European Union. The move follows the country’s Mobile Software Competition Law, which is meant to loosen the grip of dominant platform owners on app distribution and payments. On paper, it is a regulatory win. In practice, developers say it changes very little.

According to a report by The Japan News, seven IT industry groups representing more than 600 companies have jointly asked Apple and Google to scrap what they describe as “new commissions” tied to alternative app marketplaces and externally linked payments. Their complaint is straightforward: the revised fee structure offers no real economic incentive to step outside Apple’s App Store.

Under the new system, Japanese developers can avoid Apple’s standard 30 percent or 15 percent commission by choosing from a menu of fees ranging between 5 percent and 21 percent, depending on which App Store services they continue to use. Once credit card processing fees are added, developers argue the total cost can end up close to, or even higher than, Apple’s original in-app purchase model. Developers in the EU have made the same point, often in blunter terms.

Apple’s response has been consistent. The company says these fees reflect the cost of maintaining its ecosystem and the value it provides, whether a developer uses Apple’s payment tools or not. From Apple’s perspective, distribution on iOS is not free, and avoiding the App Store does not eliminate that underlying value.

The dispute has taken on added edge because of events in the United States. An ongoing legal clash involving Apple, Epic Games and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has resulted in an injunction that, for now, prevents Apple from collecting commissions on certain external payments. Japanese developers argue this gives US developers an unfair advantage. Apple, for its part, is appealing the ruling and has made clear it views the situation as temporary.

Courts have generally agreed that Apple is entitled to charge for access to its platform. Where they disagree is on how much Apple should charge, and how that money should be collected. Regulation in Japan and the EU has forced Apple to redesign its systems, but not its philosophy.

That, ultimately, is why the argument refuses to die. Apple is complying with the letter of the law while defending a commission model that many developers see as outdated and opaque. Until Apple proposes a simpler, more credible way to price access to its ecosystem, the regulatory pressure, and the resentment, are unlikely to ease.