Japan takes page from EU playbook with app store antitrust bill

TOKYO/WASHINGTON -- Japan's proposed legislation to rein in tech giants' control over mobile app marketplaces aims to establish a regulatory regime on par with Europe, with bans on specific behavior backed up by fines equivalent to 20% of sales or higher for noncompliance.

The bill drafted by the Japan Fair Trade Commission would be Japan's first ex-ante competition regulation -- legislation intended to prevent anticompetitive practices, rather than address them after the fact as the current Antimonopoly Law does -- based on the full text seen by Nikkei.