Why There Is No Samsung in Japan?
Would you believe it if I told you that Samsung, the tech giant we all know, isn’t known by that name in Japan? Yup, it’s true, and let’s dive into the fascinating story behind this.
Samsung, a multi-billion-dollar global tech giant company, once made a big misstep in one of its biggest markets. But don’t worry; they’re still around in Japan. Technically, there are Samsung products, but it’s just not under the name “Samsung.”
So, what’s their secret identity in the land of the rising sun?
The History
History? Don’t worry. I’m not going to teach you a lengthy 2 or 3-page history lesson. Instead, let’s take a look at the short history of Korea and Japan.
The two neighboring nations, separated by a narrow stretch of sea, share a history that is worth an exciting drama script. Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945 under the name of Chōsen (朝鮮). Japan did many awful things in Korea to the point that they earned themselves a new term in the modern dictionary: “Japanization.” Japan even went so far as to ban the use of Korean names and the Korean language in “KOREA” altogether.
This colonization left deep scars and evoked painful memories. During this period, it is estimated that over 200,000 Korean women (including young girls between 12–17) were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military.
Since then, Koreans have accused Japan of forcing women to work in wartime brothels for the Japanese military and using forced labor, among other abuses. The South Koreans have boycotted Japanese products over the years. But we’re talking about the South Korean company, right?
Biggest Economies
The thing is that these two countries possess the strongest economies in the world. According to statistics, Japan has the 4th largest economy in the world, and South Korea has the 13th-largest economy in the world. In other words, they’re big players on the global economic stage.
Now, what makes this rivalry even more exciting is the battle of the titans in the business world. South Korean giants like Kia, Hyundai, LG, SK Group, and Samsung are constantly duking it out with their Japanese counterparts, including Sony, Toyota, and Toshiba. It’s like a never-ending showdown where these companies are always trying to outdo each other and push the boundaries of innovation.
The Start of Everything
The thing is that there are Samsung devices and products selling officially in Japan, but they are not selling under the name “Samsung” but under the name “Galaxy.” So how did all this happen in the first place?
In the worldwide smartphone market share, Apple has 29.58% of the market share, with Samsung following closely at 24.23%, according to StatCounter. Not a massive difference, right? But, we’re talking about Japan, so let’s look at the smartphone market share in Japan.
Apple absolutely dominates in Japan, capturing 69.39% of the smartphone market, which is extremely high. Apple hasn’t reached this number in any other country, even in their home country, “The US.” But wait, it gets even more interesting! Although Japan is famous for its tech products and innovations, its biggest smartphone producer, “Sony,” can only manage 5.39% of the market. Meanwhile, the world’s second-largest smartphone company by market cap, Samsung, only has 5.81% in a country with over 125 million people.
All these results stem from the wrong decisions of the company during the tensions between the countries. It all began with Samsung’s release of the famous custom Android/IOS competitor interface, One UI’s parent in 2010, TouchWiz 6.0. In this release, Samsung decided to remove all references to Japanese culture from their phones. Although there is no official statement or status that proves that the company removed these on purpose, all the rumors and stories start from the new emoji designs in TouchWiz.
The Emojis
But, by the way, do you think all emojis look the same? The answer should be NO because you need to know that they were born from different parents like Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, and other different platforms. They are not born equal. All major platforms and companies have their rights to edit and create their emojis. But to maintain the same consistency and meaning of emojis across all platforms, there is a standard rulebook from an organization called the “Unicode Consortium.” But, how does that relate to the topic?
Now, here’s where Samsung’s misstep happens. When releasing TouchWiz 6.0, Samsung broke the standard in making emojis, especially Japanese culture-related emojis. They tried to remove the emojis that are related to Japanese references:
— Tokyo Tower Emoji
— Cross Flags Emoji
— Japanese Doll
— Map of Japan
In fact, we can clearly see that the map of Japan wasn’t even supported by TouchWiz 6.0, and the emoji is in the style of “Not Supported”.
It was the time that Samsung first set foot in Japan, and this change to their TouchWiz 6.0 made big headlines in Japan during a period of high tension between Korea and Japan. You see, the Japanese are known to support their own products, meanwhile, Samsung used to be a company so odd to them.
Since then, Samsung accepted its mistakes and stopped using its brand name and logo everywhere in Japan entirely. They rebranded themselves as just “Galaxy” — a bit of a costume change to blend in with a different crowd, attempting to bury its past in the smartphone world.
Since then, anything Samsung-related in Japan — from the retail stores, billboards, and even websites uses the name “Galaxy” and never features the name or logo “Samsung.”
The Rise of Apple in Japan
Do you remember the fact that the smartphone market coverage of Apple is over 69% when the Japanese tend to purchase their own products? You might ask, why don’t they just buy a “Sony” phone, which is a Japanese product most of the time?
The answer is also closely tied to the strategic moves made by Apple’s decisions in the country. Since the founding of Apple, Steve Jobs stated that “Sony” is what he really respected as a company. Apple suddenly grabbed the chance of Samsung’s missteps and added many Japanese references to their operating systems and much more.
In conclusion, the absence of Samsung in Japan is based on several different factors such as historical tensions and corporate decisions.
Business Lesson: This story of Samsung illustrates the importance of understanding the cultural nuances and history when entering international markets, keeping an eye on consumer perception, and conducting proper market research.
Note: Samsung started to rebrand its name back to “Samsung” starting from February 28th this year, as the past started to get forgotten among the citizens.
