In 2013, Japan's smartphone industry faced the shocking news that NEC Corp. and Panasonic Corp. were withdrawing from making those handsets for consumers.
It wasn't that long ago when these two makers held stable positions in the cellphone market, but the situation changed completely after Apple Inc. came in with its iPhone.
The iPhone has been growing ever more powerful in Japan, with NTT Docomo Inc., the biggest carrier, starting to sell them in September.