Wireless penetration in Japan surpasses 100% in the 15-64 age bracket

Yaromir at Japan's Cellphone Edge has uncovered some more interesting stats on the saturated Japan mobile market. He notes that "according to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, the population of the country stood at 127,740,000 at the beginning of February 2006." In the 15 to 64 year old age bracket there are 84,330,000 people.

He then writes that according to TCA, "the total number of Japanese wireless subscribers in February was 90,767,700," which is more than the number of people in the critical 15-64 bracket. So what does this mean? It means the key market segment is very mature and saturated.

Of course there are still folks without a handset as well as those who own two or more, maintaining separate accounts for personal and/or business use. But as Yaromir points out, "Japan’s market growth will depend on the replacement sales and further penetration into the youngest and oldest age groups. Tough times await the numerous domestic handset makers and wireless operators."