The “Appliv Best App Award” is an award presented by “Appliv”—which has reviewed over 70,000 apps to date—to recognize outstanding apps that the company wishes to bring to users each year. This year, new categories—including an entry system, an Annual Grand Prize, and a Marketing category—have been introduced. By expanding the scope of evaluation to include not only product quality but also business growth and marketing strategies, the award aims to further advance the app industry as a whole.

Drawing on his experience supporting the growth of numerous mobile app businesses in Japan and overseas, Morishita will participate in the judging for this award, bringing a global perspective and marketing expertise to the process.

▶︎https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000672.000055900.html

（Photos from the Last Awards Ceremony）

Comment by Akira Morishita

I am deeply honored to have been invited to serve as a special judge for the “Appliv Best App Award 2026.”

Throughout my career, I have been involved in the marketing and business growth of numerous mobile apps, both in Japan and in overseas markets. What I have strongly come to realize is that, while Japan is home to many outstanding apps, technologies, and developers capable of competing on the global stage, there are still many cases where their value is not being fully communicated.

An excellent app is not simply one with a high number of downloads or one that has become a hot topic. I believe that a truly excellent app is a product that deeply understands users’ challenges, continuously improves their experience, and provides value that keeps them coming back for the long term.

Furthermore, advances in AI have significantly lowered the barriers to app development. However, precisely because we live in an era where anyone can create a product, perspectives such as “Whose problems does it solve?” and “Why will users continue to choose it?” have become more important than ever.

In this year’s judging, we intend to focus not only on the level of polish and functionality, but also on the value the app delivers to users, the challenges it overcame to come into being, and whether it represents a business with the potential for sustainable growth .

We sincerely hope that this award will provide outstanding apps and developers with new opportunities for challenge and serve as a catalyst for the Japanese app industry to take flight on the global stage.

About the “Appliv Best App Award 2026”

The “Appliv Best App Award” is an award organized by “Appliv,” one of Japan’s largest app review platforms with a track record of over 70,000 app reviews. In addition to an initial screening by the editorial team, the award involves evaluation by a panel of external special judges to select the outstanding apps that best represent the year. For 2026, the awards will feature categories such as the “Grand Prize,” “Category Awards,” “Startup Awards,” and “Marketing Awards,” evaluating not only the products themselves but also the strategies that support business growth. Entries are currently being accepted through August 16, 2026, and the winners are scheduled to be announced on December 1, 2026.