Based on comScores latest data, Yahoo! sites hold a 51.3% share of all searches conducted in Japan, while Google is significantly weaker with a 38.2% share. Actually, Google have dropped from 39% in September 2008.

So while Google continues to dominate in the US, they are rapidly slipping in the land of the rising sun.

Maru Sato from comScore Japan explains why this is a great sign for Yahoo!

Home to the third largest Internet population in the world, Japan represents a valuable market for search engines.

So what is it that makes Yahoo more appealing to Japanese searchers?
Many speculate that its because the Yahoo! search engine provides more than just search results, it is a complete search platform. Check out the image below of the Yahoo.co.jp search page and you will see what I am talking about.

Now, compare this to Google.co.jp

I also wonder if the recent link buying scandal by Google Japan has had an effect on their popularity. For those that are unaware, Google Japan was recently penalized because they were caught paying bloggers to write positive reviews about their services. Maybe this has caused Japanese searchers to boycott the search engine!

With Japan fast becoming the world leader in all things tech; maybe it wont be long before everyone else catches up and (slowly) starts moving from Google to Yahoo! - I bet this would be music to Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartzs ears!

Del.icio.us

Digg

Reddit

Furl