You can add Japan to the list of regions where Apple has been forced to do something it would rather not: open up the App Store. On Thursday, the company announced changes to iOS in Japan to comply with the nation's Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA). The tighter regulations for Apple and Google, which overlap with Europe's, took effect today. Users in the US and elsewhere won't see any of these changes.
Appleâs recent warning messages on EU App Store listings regarding third-party payment systems have been misleadingly described as new, but they have been present since March 2024.