Nokia, the world's biggest manufacturer of mobile phones, has decided to back away from the Japanese market. The Finnish company said Friday it will only continue to sell its high-end Vertu line in the world's fourth largest mobile market.

Nokia never grabbed more than 1 percent of a very competitive Japanese market, which offers some of the most sophisticated mobile services in the world.   "We have judged that we cannot continue to invest in product development just for Japan amid the current tough economic conditions," Nokia's EVP Timo Ihamuotila told Reuters.

Japanese manufacturers have provided stiff competition to Nokia in their domestic market ever since the Finnish phone maker entered that market in 1994. Japanese cell phone networks have offered 3G services for years including video downloads and live television.

In recent days, a number of publications have rerported that Nokia was planning to launch a Nokia-labeled telephone service, known as an MVNO, in Japan.  It is not clear how the pullback would affect the new network.

The Vertu phone line is Nokia's most expensive. The phones are made in the U.K, are often decorated with precious stones, and sell for $5,000 to $10,000 each.