Japan MSCA full enforcement date on JFTC hub (18 Dec 2025)
The Japan Fair Trade Commission MSCA hub states that the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software was fully enforced on 18 December 2025, after the 26 March 2025 designation of Apple Inc., iTunes K.K., and Google LLC.
The JFTC hub page スマホソフトウェア競争促進法（スマホ法）, opened 20 September 2026, states that the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software was enacted in June 2024 (promulgated 19 June 2024 as Act No. 58 of Reiwa 6) and that the Act was fully enforced on 18 December 2025 (令和７年12月18日に全面施行).
The same hub restates that designation provisions took effect in advance on 19 December 2024, and that on 26 March 2025 the JFTC designated Apple Inc. (mobile OS, app store, browser), iTunes K.K. (app store), and Google LLC (mobile OS, app store, browser, search engine). A hub notice dated 18 December 2025 records that an MSCA declaration / complaint form was opened that day.
Operator action
From the full-enforcement date, prohibited-conduct and compliance duties for designated operators are live under the Act. Platform fee cards and alternative-distribution tooling (for example Apple’s iOS 26.2 Japan notices) should be read as responses to that statutory clock, not as substitutes for the Act text.
| Field | Evidence or limit |
|---|---|
| Full enforcement | 2025-12-18 on the JFTC hub |
| Designated operators | Apple Inc., iTunes K.K., Google LLC |
| Exact prohibited-conduct catalogue | Linked statutes/guidelines on the hub; not fully restated in the hub prose alone |
| Measured Japan UA funnel mix shift on day one | Not on this page |
| UA implication | Diary 18 Dec 2025 as the statutory live date for Japan competing-store / payment planning; verify current compliance reports on the hub before assuming a marketplace is authorised |
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