iTunes dominates Japan

Japan is by far the world's most dense population of iTunes users, a new comScore study suggests. The group claims that some 13.6 million people -- or 23.7 percent of Japan's entire Internet audience -- accessed iTunes at some point during the month of August. The country ranks higher in terms of iTunes penetration than even the US, where only 19.6 percent used the software in August, and the second-place United Kingdom, which scored 23.4 percent. The worldwide percentage was just 11.2 percent.

The figures may be somewhat skewed however, as comScore's definition of the Internet audience incorporates only people aged 15 and older, while also excluding people using only Internet cafes, cellphones or PDAs. iTunes could thus represent a significantly smaller percent of the real market, especially given the prevalence of mobile technology in places like Japan.

Apple's presence in the country is believed to have been boosted by the iPhone, but phone carrier Softbank has not published any sales information.

by MacNN Staff