JFTC Approves the Commitment Plan Submitted by Amazon Japan G.K.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "JFTC") has investigated Amazon Japan G.K. (hereinafter referred to as "Amazon Japan") in accordance with the provisions of the Antimonopoly Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), and suspected that Amazon Japan's conduct described in 3 below might violate Article 19 of the Act (falling under Paragraph (12) of the Designation of Unfair Trade Practices [Trading on Restrictive Terms]).

Recognizing that competition would be promptly restored, through the Commitment Procedures, by measures to be swiftly taken by Amazon Japan to eliminate the conduct, the JFTC issued the Notice of Commitment Procedures to Amazon Japan on November 4, 2026, pursuant to Article 48-2 of the Act.

Amazon Japan submitted the Commitment Plan to the JFTC, applying for approval of the measures necessary to eliminate the conduct described in 3 below, pursuant to Article 48-3, Paragraph (1) of the Act. The JFTC today approved the Commitment Plan, pursuant to Article 48-3, Paragraph (3) of the Act, recognizing that the plan is sufficient to eliminate the conduct and is expected to be reliably implemented (Note 1) (Note 2).

It is noted that today's approval does not mean that the JFTC has recognized that Amazon Japan's conduct described in 3 below violated the Act.

(1) Amazon Japan operates an online shopping store (Note 3) called "Amazon.co.jp" (hereinafter referred to as the "Amazon Store"). Amazon Japan concludes contracts on the use of the "Selling on Amazon" service with those who wish to offer goods or services (hereinafter collectively referred to as "products") on the Amazon Store. Amazon Japan provides those who have concluded such contracts (hereinafter referred to as "sellers") with a place to sell their products, and in return collects various commissions from the sellers.

(2) The Amazon Store has one of the largest gross merchandise values among online shopping stores in Japan and holds a considerable market share. It is also highly recognized and has strong customer-attracting power. Therefore, selling products on the Amazon Store is important for sellers in conducting their business.

(3) The Amazon Store has a page for each product that displays detailed information on the product, such as its name, images, and description (hereinafter referred to as the "product detail page"). Even when multiple sellers offer the same product, there is only one product detail page for that product.

(4) Except in the case described in (6) below, the product detail page displays the offer information of an offer by a specific seller, such as the price, delivery conditions, shipper, and seller of the product (hereinafter simply referred to as "offer information"), as the "Featured Offer," together with the buttons for purchasing the product labeled "Add to Cart" and "Buy Now" (hereinafter, an offer displayed in this manner is referred to as the "Featured Offer"). Offer information of offers other than the "Featured Offer" is not displayed on the product detail page.

(5) To become eligible for display as the "Featured Offer" for a product, a seller must set the selling price (Note 4) of the product at or below the "Competitive Price" (Note 5). The "Featured Offer" is then selected from among the offers by eligible sellers, taking into account factors such as delivery conditions.

(6) For a product for which no seller is eligible for display as the "Featured Offer" and no "Featured Offer" is displayed on the product detail page, no offer information is displayed on the product detail page, including the offer information of the offer with the lowest selling price for the product on the Amazon Store.

(7) Regardless of whether a "Featured Offer" is displayed on the product detail page, consumers who wish to view the offer information of offers not displayed as the "Featured Offer" need to open a page separate from the product detail page that displays the offer information of all offers (hereinafter, such a display is referred to as the "All Offers Display").

(8) Most products purchased on the Amazon Store are purchased from the offer displayed as the "Featured Offer," without consumers viewing the All Offers Display. Some sellers therefore recognize that, under the current mechanism of the Amazon Store, if their offers are not displayed as the "Featured Offer," their offer information will not be displayed on the product detail page and consumers will not notice their offers, resulting in a significant decrease in their sales, and thus consider it important to have their offers displayed as the "Featured Offer.".

(Note 3) "Online shopping stores" include stores whose operators provide other enterprises with a place to sell products (so-called online malls), as well as stores whose operators themselves sell products.

(Note 4) "Selling price" refers to the price of a product plus any shipping fee charged, minus the value of any points granted upon purchase of the product.

(Note 5) "Competitive Price" refers to the lowest of the selling prices of the same product as that sold on the Amazon Store at a considerable number of online shopping stores that Amazon Japan considers to be substitutes for the Amazon Store for consumers in terms of selling prices, product assortment, and other factors. These online shopping stores include some with high gross merchandise value in Japan.

In September 2019, Amazon Japan introduced an algorithm-based mechanism for determining whether an offer is eligible for display as the "Featured Offer." Through the following conduct described in (1) to (3), which relates to the operation of this mechanism, Amazon Japan has been causing sellers to set the selling prices of their products on the Amazon Store at or below the "Competitive Price.

(1) Not granting a seller eligibility for display as the "Featured Offer" for a product if the selling price of the product offered by the seller on the Amazon Store is higher than the "Competitive Price."

(2) When not granting eligibility under (1) above, notifying the seller, by means such as displaying on Seller Central (Note 6) or sending an e-mail, that the seller's offer is not displayed as the "Featured Offer" because the selling price of the product is higher than the "Competitive Price."

(3) Informing sellers that, to become eligible for display as the "Featured Offer" for a product, they need to set the selling price of the product at or below the "Competitive Price."

(Note 6) "Seller Central" refers to a sales management tool that sellers use to register products offered on the Amazon Store and to set and change their prices and other details.

(1) It is problematic under the Act if an influential enterprise in a market trades with its trading partners on conditions that restrict their business activities, such as restrictions on transactions with competitors of the enterprise, thereby creating a risk that new entrants or existing competitors may be excluded or that their business opportunities will be reduced (Paragraph (12) of the Designation of Unfair Trade Practices [Trading on Restrictive Terms]).

(2) As described in 2 above, unless sellers set the selling prices of their products at or below the "Competitive Price," their offer information is not displayed on the product detail page. As a result, they would suffer economic disadvantages in the form of a significant decrease in sales on the Amazon Store. Sellers are therefore placed in a situation where they have little choice but to set their selling prices at or below the "Competitive Price." Accordingly, Amazon Japan's conduct described in 3 above may restrict sellers' freedom to set their prices.

(3) Amazon Japan's conduct described in 3 above has the effect of lowering the selling prices of products on the Amazon Store to or below the selling prices of the same products at other online shopping stores. It is considered that, as a result, even if competing operators of other online shopping stores implement sales promotion measures, such as reducing sales commissions, funding points granted to consumers upon purchase, or holding sales and other events, those measures would not be effective, and these operators would thus be deprived of means of competing for consumers.

(4) Some sellers supply the same products as those they offer on the Amazon Store to operators of other online shopping stores. As a result of Amazon Japan's conduct described in 3 above, when the selling price of such a product at another online shopping store is presented to such a seller as the "Competitive Price" on the Amazon Store, the seller may, hoping the "Competitive Price" will rise, ask the operator of that store to set the selling price of the product at or above the seller's own selling price on the Amazon Store, or may stop supplying the product to that operator. It is considered that, as a result, the operator would become unable to sell the product at a price lower than on the Amazon Store, or unable to carry the product at all, and would thereby be placed at a disadvantage in competing for consumers in terms of selling prices and product assortment.

(5) Operators of online malls such as the Amazon Store provide a place for enterprises to sell their products. The selling prices of products should be determined freely by the enterprises offering them, at their own discretion, taking into account factors such as selling costs, profits, and the selling prices of other enterprises' products. However, through its conduct described in 3 above, Amazon Japan is considered to be causing sellers to set the selling prices of their products on the Amazon Store at or below the "Competitive Price." In addition, the "Competitive Price" is the lowest of the selling prices of the same product at competing online shopping stores, and sellers may not be able to make a profit by selling the product at that price. Furthermore, for a product for which no seller is eligible for display as the "Featured Offer" and no "Featured Offer" is displayed on the product detail page, the offer information is not displayed on the product detail page even if a seller has set the lowest selling price for the product on the Amazon Store. From the consumer's perspective, the product appears as if it were not being sold. This is considered to substantially deprive sellers who do not sell at or below the "Competitive Price" of the very opportunity to sell.

(6) Accordingly, as described in (3) and (4) above, Amazon Japan's conduct described in 3 above is considered to deprive competitors of means of competition and place them at a competitive disadvantage. It is therefore considered that the conduct may give rise to a risk of bringing about a situation in which competitors are excluded or their business opportunities are reduced. In addition, as described in (5) above, it is considered that the conduct is carried out by unjust means of competition from the viewpoint of competition on the merits, which centers on price, quality, and service. It is also considered that this aspect of the conduct may give rise to a risk of adversely affecting the fair competitive order.

(1) Where no "Featured Offer" is displayed on the product detail page because no offer has a selling price at or below the "Competitive Price," displaying on the product detail page, in a manner readily visible to consumers, information on the price, delivery conditions, shipper, and seller of the offer for which the price of the product, plus any shipping fee charged, is the lowest among the offers available for purchase by consumers, as well as an entry point indicating that consumers can proceed to purchase the product.

(2) Where no "Featured Offer" is displayed on the product detail page as described in (1) above, informing sellers and consumers, through help pages and other means, that the information on the price, delivery conditions, shipper, and seller of the product described in (1) above will be displayed on the product detail page, and that consumers can proceed to purchase the product through the entry point described in (1) above.

(3) Implementing the measure described in (1) above for five years from the date on which its operation commences.

(4) Deciding, by its decision-making body for business execution, to take the measures described in (1) to (3) above.

(5) Notifying sellers of the measures taken based on (1), (2), and (4) above, and thoroughly disseminating them to its relevant employees.

(6) Taking the measures necessary to carry out the following:

(a) Formulating a code of conduct on compliance with the Act concerning the prices set by sellers for products offered on the Amazon Store, and thoroughly disseminating it to its relevant employees.

(b) Conducting periodic training for its relevant employees on compliance with the Act concerning the price setting of products offered by sellers on the Amazon Store, and periodic audits by its legal personnel.

(7) Entrusting the monitoring of the implementation of the measures described in (1) to (6) above to a third party (limited to one approved by the JFTC).

(8) Requiring the third party entrusted under (7) above to report to the JFTC on the implementation status of the measures described in (1), (2), and (4) to (6) above.

(9) Requiring the third party entrusted under (7) above to report annually to the JFTC, during the implementation period of the measure described in (3) above, on the implementation status of that measure and of the training and audits described in (6)(b) above.

The JFTC recognized that the Commitment Plan described in 5 above conforms to all the approval requirements stipulated in the Act, as follows, and approved the Commitment Plan.

(1) Sufficiency of the Content of Measures

(2) Reliability of Implementation of Measures

* This announcement is a TENTATIVE TRANSLATION. Please refer to the original text written in Japanese.