Yahoo tops in Japan, Google close behind
ComScore data has been released for Japan's search market and Yahoo -- not Google -- tops the list.
ComScore on Wednesday released its ranking of the top search properties in Japan during the month of September 2008. And although the same two leaders in the U.S. -- Google and Yahoo -- top the list, it's Google that's trailing in Japan.
According to ComScore's qSearch data, 5.9 billion searches were conducted in Japan in September and the average person searched 96 times during the month. Yahoo led the way in search query volume with 3 billion searches and 51 percent market share, but Google wasn't far behind with 2.3 billion searches and 39 percent market share. Microsoft, which makes the third-most popular search engine in the U.S., only mustered 90 million queries during the month to take the fourth spot in the country behind Japan-based Rakuten.
"The search market in Japan is dominated by Yahoo and Google, which combine for more than 90 percent of the market," Maru Sato, managing director of ComScore Japan said in a statement.
Yahoo's control over the Japanese market comes in stark contrast to the U.S. search market, which is dominated by Google. According to ComScore's September data, Google controlled 62.9 percent of the search market, compared to Yahoo's 20.2 percent.