Japan and the U.K. are two of the most highly mobile cultures, yet usage in each is unique to their market.

Mobile phone access is nearly universal in both markets, but smartphone ownership was notably more prevalent in the U.K. (61%) than in Japan (24%) as of Q1 2012. Japan’s smartphone owners, however, enjoy widespread usage of unlimited data (92%), which they use to send email more than their U.K. counterparts. In the U.K., where prepaid services and limited data options are more popular, users more frequently use texting and instant messaging than in Japan.

Mobile Web usage varies between the two countries as well: Japan’s smartphone owners rely on search (71%) and portals (53%) to navigate the Internet, whereas more U.K. smartphone users access news (46%) and sports sites (21%) directly. And while users in each market use apps or the mobile Web to access their favorite sites similarly, U.K. smartphone owners have six apps on average, compared with 10 apps each in Japan.

Most mobile subscribers in both markets access social networks on their phones every day. In terms of frequency, however, the Japanese are more active and nearly twice as likely to use these sites multiple times per day (59%). When using social networks, Britons are more passively engaged and more likely to read messages (60%), view pictures (57%) and browse profiles (46%). Japanese mobile subscribers are more interactive and are more likely to upload photos (32%), post blogs (26%) and play online games (13%) while using social networks.

Look for Nielsen at Mobile World Congress 2013 where our mobile experts will present insights on the everyday mobile behaviors of global consumers.