Japan Competition Authorities Conduct Raid on Amazon Japan

Japan's Fair Trade Commission conducts on-site inspection at Amazon Japan over alleged anti-monopoly law violations. Concerns raised about Amazon Japan pressuring sellers to lower prices for better product placement. Amazon Japan yet to respond to queries regarding the raid.

Credit: AMAZON

The commission suspects that Amazon.com Inc's Japanese unit may have been pressuring sellers to reduce prices on its e-commerce platform in exchange for preferential product placement. The source, who chose to remain anonymous, expressed concerns about Amazon Japan's pricing practices, hinting at potential irregularities.

Amazon Japan has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the inspection. This move comes amidst reports that the tech giant could face an investigation by the European Union next year. European antitrust regulators are reportedly looking into whether Amazon shows bias towards its own brand products on its online marketplace, raising concerns about fair competition.

In a previous incident in March 2018, Japanese regulators had raided Amazon Japan on suspicions of compelling suppliers to share the costs of offering discounts on the platform. Following this, Amazon Japan proposed a plan to enhance its business practices, which was accepted by authorities in September of the same year.

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• Japan's Fair Trade Commission conducts on-site inspection at Amazon Japan over alleged anti-monopoly law violations.

• Concerns raised about Amazon Japan pressuring sellers to lower prices for better product placement.

• Amazon Japan yet to respond to queries regarding the raid.

Source: REUTERS