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Used smartphone sales to hit record high in Japan amid price hikes
Sales of used smartphones in Japan are expected to hit an all-time high in fiscal 2024, as rising prices of new devices drive consumers toward more affordable options, a Tokyo-based research company said.
Sales are estimated to further expand in the coming years, possibly hitting 4.38 million units in fiscal 2028, on the back of elevated prices of new devices due to the yen's depreciation and higher material costs, the research firm said. Although new smartphone models, including Apple Inc.'s latest iPhone released in September, have attracted attention, many consumers seem to find it difficult to loosen their purse strings, said Hideaki Yokota, vice president of MM Research. To support the secondhand smartphone market, an expert panel of the communication ministry proposed in September that telecom carriers should be basically banned from restricting the use of such devices because of previous owners' unpaid bills.
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