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Apple's 'brand power' tops Japanese consumer survey

Apple was named as Japan's top consumer brand on Friday, the first time the company has received the title.

In the Brand Japan 2012 survey conducted by Nikkei BP Consulting Inc., Apple's key products like the iPad helped the company beat out 999 other brands to take top honors.

The iPhone maker moved up ten spots from its 11th place finish in 2011 and scored 90.5 points for "total brand power," a number derived from the results of some 52,000 people aged 18 and older. International heavyweights Google, YouTube, and a number of Japanese market brands were also in the running.

Apple's products also performed well in the survey, with the iPad and two other unnamed devices placing as top-40 brands.

It can be deduced that the iPhone was one a top-rated device as the handset recently took over as the best-selling smartphone in Japan. Led by the iPhone 4S, Apple took a 26.6 percent share of the market during the winter quarter. Siri was also launched earlier in March, though the voice assistant has faced trouble with certain Japanese phrases.


Apple Store in Nagoya Sakae. | Source: Apple

Apple took second place out of 500 brands in the business category, which evaluated responses from the corporate, and was bested by international giant Toyota Motor Corp.