"Absolutely iPhone"...Japan, Once Buying "Samsung Phones" Only for the Price, Is Changing

In the Japanese mobile phone market, where Samsung Electronics had long struggled, the company is now showing signs of recovery. For the first time in five years since 2020, it ranked third in both total handset shipments, including feature phones, and smartphone shipments. Rising local interest in AI smartphones appears to have driven the strong sales.
According to Japanese market research firm MM Research Institute (MMRI) on the 19th, Samsung Electronics ranked third last year in Japan in both total mobile phone shipments, including feature phones, and smartphone shipments.
Apple still took the top spot in both total shipments by brand and smartphone shipments, followed by Google in second place. However, MMRI did not disclose specific shipment volumes.
This is the first time since 2020 that Samsung Electronics has placed third in both categories. In 2020, it ranked third in both total handset shipments and smartphone shipments, then climbed to second place in smartphone shipments the following year, but fell to fourth in total shipments, including feature phones, pushed down by Kyocera and others.
The decline continued, and by 2022 its market share based on total shipments had dropped to fifth place. In 2023 and 2024, it remained in fourth place in both total handset and smartphone rankings.
Market observers say Samsung Electronics has captured Japanese consumers by exploiting a gap created when local brands such as Sharp failed to respond quickly to AI technology.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter