Japan to regulate smartphone app stores to end Apple-Google duopoly

The Japanese government said Friday it plans to implement a new law that regulates smartphone app stores to promote easier market access for third-party developers and spur competition amid the Apple Inc. and Google LLC duopoly.

The envisaged law would make it mandatory for the dominant smartphone operating system providers to allow the entry of third-party app stores if they are deemed safe, government officials said.

At present, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS dominate the operating system market, with customers having little choice but to use their respective Google Play and App Store port...