iPod, iTunes Beat Sony in Japan Market

Apple on Wednesday said both its iPod music player and iTunes Music Store have toppled Japan native Sony to become number one in the Japanese music market. Sony had led as recently as July, but Apple's fortunes turned a corner with the introduction of iTunes in the country.

Within four days of launch, iTunes Japan sold more than one million tracks, the fastest start of any of the company's twenty regionalized stores. Apple credited the iPod's success to that response, which analysts initially doubted would succeed due to the intricacies of the Japanese marketplace.

"We're delighted that Japanese music fans love the unrivaled combination of the world's most popular online music store and the world's best digital music players," Apple vice president of marketing Philip Schiller said in a statement.

According to the Japanese technology site Business Computer News (BCN), Apple now enjoys close to a 60 percent market share in the digital music player market, and continues show impressive growth in the region.

"All eyes are on Apple to see how far it will grow its numbers in the holiday season," WebBCN editor-in-chief Ichiro Michikoshi said.

iTunes competitor Yahoo launched a Japanese version of its Yahoo! Music Unlimited music service in August. Napster, meanwhile, has plans to bring its music service to the country in 2006 through a partnership with Tower Records Japan.