Nokia To Pull Out Of Japan Market

Nokia To Pull Out Of Japan Market

Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, plans to stop making phones for the Japan market, one of the largest in the world.
The Finnish phone maker announced Thursday that it would stop manufacturing cell phones for NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile, but will continue producing its luxury Vertu brand, according to a report by Reuters.



"In the current global economic climate, we have concluded that the continuation of our investment in Japan-specific localized products is no longer sustainable," Nokia executive vice president Timo Ihamuotila said in a statement.

While Nokia has a 40 percent global share, the Japanese market has been a tough nut to crack, the report notes. Some 85 percent of the population already owns cell phones, which tend to be part of third-generation networks that sport advanced features, such as TV broadcasting and electronic payment functions, according to the report.