On August 18, 2023, the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE. Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hiroshi Mikitani) submitted comments in response to public consultation on the “Evaluation of Competition in the Mobile Ecosystem (Final Report)”(*Japanese) conducted by Headquarters for Digital Market Competition (HDMC), Cabinet Secretariat.

Please see below for the full comments.
>read full comments.

[Summary]

1. General Comments
   JANE has been pointing out the issues arising from the oligopoly structure of mobile OS and app stores and the need to resolve them. We agree with the HDMC’s basic policy for resolving these issues.
   　
2. Issues in app stores
   · With regard to the issues arising from the high commission fees that app stores impose on app developers and the obligation to use their own payment and billing systems, HDMC established policies not only “prohibits operators providing app stores above a certain size from requiring the use of their own payment and billing systems,” but also prevents actions that would effectively prevent the use of other payment and billing systems to ensure security and privacy. These ensure competition in the channels for obtaining applications and digital contents. JANE supports these measures.
   · JANE strongly expects that commission fees for payment and billing systems should be set at a level and content acceptable to app developers, thereby ensuring the interests of consumers and promoting startups in Japan.
   　
3. Ensuring flexibility and effectiveness of the scheme
   · The system should be designed to allow for flexible responses to new specific issues that may arise as the market environment and technology advances.
   · The report states that OS providers may take necessary and proportionate measures to ensure security and privacy, but a scheme is needed to enable authorities to evaluate whether such measures are necessary and proportionate.

4. Scope of Regulation
   · Some foreign jurisdictions have taken a regulatory approach that prohibits (or even mandates) certain actions for platform operators that exceed certain thresholds, regardless of their business model.　Such approaches may pose the risk of becoming a double-edged sword that stifles innovation in the relevant field. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the scope of regulation to cases and targets considered truly necessary based on the market environment and not to expand the scope of regulation beyond what is necessary.