Created accounted just to say this:

Titles like this are not only terrible generalizations, but they are completely misinformed (the 2 not being mutually exclusive).

I live in Tokyo, and I can tell you, more than a few people have an iPhone. It's popular to the point that its ridiculous. Now you may wonder why are the sales are so poor. A casual walk into a mobile shop will show you. It's variety. There are too many phones to choose from. While the iPhone still wins hands down in sleekness, there are a host of other decent phones (with greater capabilities) to choose from.

So there is no 'hate' involved, it just boils down to market saturation of comparable phones. Apple took a piss in the sea...no surprises on the results.