iPhone expected to become market leader in Japan, thanks to DoCoMo deal

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Apple is expected to become the market leader in Japan, with the iPhone 5s and 5c forecast to make up 40 percent of all new contracts on Japan’s DoCoMo carrier, reports Nikkei (via CNET).

The 40 percent figure is believed to be the quota that Apple and DoCoMo agreed on, the report said […] This development marks a tectonic shift in DoCoMo’s strategy and the Japanese phone market in general. Domestic phone suppliers like Sharp and Fujitsu are expected to suffer as a result … 

While other Japanese carriers already offer the iPhone, the DoCoMo deal is key, with the carrier selling over 23M handsets a year. Grabbing 40 percent of that would make Apple the dominant player in the country, taking sales not just from local carriers but also from Samsung, whose handsets were heavily promoted by DoCoMo this summer.

It has been estimated that Chinese and Japanese sales combined could add up to an extra 38M sales for Apple.