Apple's iPhone commands 46% of Japanese smartphone market

That's right. Any ideas what is the actual number of market share does iPhone take in Japan among all the possible mobile phones ?

I'd tend to agree having spent some significant time there. Couldn't find numbers, but I think that segmenting the Japanese handset market this way is particularly misleading.

"The MCPC believes that there is a difference in smartphone usage patterns between Japan and Europe/North America. Smartphones in the West have become popular as a device for email and other communications as compared to the voice‐centric nature of regular mobile phones. In Japan, mobile phones have been designed with advanced functionality, including i‐mode, picture mail, official websites, etc."

http://www.mcpc-jp.org/english/pdf/news.pdf

You've gotta be right. Anecdotal evidence (watching people on the train most days for the last year) suggests that pretty much nobody has an iphone here, despite it being very heavily promoted. Everybody's heard of them; I get comments on mine all the time. "iPhone? いい、ね！" (how great!) But I continue to be surprised whenever I see another person using one.