It would appear that Apple and the iPhone isn’t having it all there own way in certain parts of the globe, namely Japan, as apparently Android handsets have surpassed the iconic iOS smartphone in Japan smartphone market share.

According to an article over on Bloomberg, by way of MM Research Institute Ltd, last year Android captured 57% of the Japanese smartphone market share in the last fiscal year slashing Apple’s iPhone share. By the end of March Android shipments rose to 4.91 million as compares with sales of 250,000 handsets or 11% of the market a year previous, a year before Android became widely available in Japan.

When it comes to the iPhone in Japan, in the last fiscal year Apple shipped 3.23 million iPhone units accounting for 38% of the Japan smartphone market share, while a year earlier Apple shipped 1.69 million for a 72% share.

However according to the research group Apple apparently remains the most popular smartphone maker in Japan with Sharp, who introduced their first Android handset back in June 2010 is in second place with 24% share while Sony Ericsson’s Xperia with 9.8%.