Tim Cook relayed concern over app store curbs to Japan PM: sources

Apple woos Tokyo as antitrust pressure builds in the West

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Apple CEO Tim Cook at company headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple does not allow downloads of iPhone apps from outside its official App Store. © Reuters

TAKESHI SHIRAISHI and SATSUKI KANEKO, Nikkei staff writers

PALO ALTO, U.S./TOKYO -- Apple CEO Tim Cook urged Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to consider user protections when regulating smartphone app distribution during a mid-December meeting, Nikkei has learned, as the tech giant faces growing pressure to open up to third-party app stores.

Apple has come under fire in Europe and elsewhere for requiring all app downloads on the iPhone go through its official App Store. Cook's first trip to Japan in three years was likely intended to prevent similar arguments from gaining momentum in Japan.

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