The fair trade watchdog raided the offices of Amazon Japan over allegations that it improperly pressured retailers that sold products on its site.
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Amazon Japan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Japan is an important and biggest global market for the US tech giant. Under Japan’s antitrust laws, businesses aren’t allowed to impose restrictions on the commercial activities of counterparties.
The antitrust agency is looking into whether Amazon sought deals with sellers that gave it more favorable conditions over other e-commerce companies, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The company now offers Prime membership in Japan, which includes video, same-day shipping and other add-on services for an annual fee. By comparison, main rival Rakuten recorded e-commerce revenue in Japan of 263.9 billion yen ($2.9 billion) in the same period.
Amazon Japan’s website booked net sales of $8.3 billion past year, equivalent to 7.7 percent of Amazon.com’s worldwide net sales.
Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Japanese division has come under scrutiny by the country’s antimonopoly watchdogs over possible blackmailing to retailers.
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European Union regulators opened a formal investigation in 2015, examining whether Amazon.com used its marketing power to force e-book publishers to accept terms harmful to purchasers. The investigations were closed after the company changed policies that banned traders from selling products offered on Amazon more cheaply elsewhere.
