Counterpoint Technology Market Research reported that non-Japanese handset makers now surpassed the 50% mark in the Japanese handset market for the first time. This shows that consumers are moving away from local manufacturers for a wider array of mobile devices. Also, foreign players had a head start in introducing smartphones running on iOS and Android platforms.

Apple is leading the race with 16%, and the quarterly figure marks an increase from 10% in 2011. Samsung Electronics’s market share reached 8%, down from 10% in 2011, while LG Electronics Inc.’s market share gained 1 percentage point to 4%. On the other hand, Huawei’s sales jumped three-fold in the period, without disclosing the figures for the Chinese handset maker.

Peter Richardson, research director at Counterpoint told Yonhap News that “[last year] both Softbank and KDDI heavily promoted the new iPhone 5 to challenge Docomo. This move sparked a battle of smartphones in which Docomo fought back with various new smartphone models, the majority of which were also foreign branded.”