Amazon is being investigated on suspicion of violating anti-monopoly laws and had its office raided as a result of that investigation.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission conducted the raid on the company’s office in the Asian country over antitrust concerns. “There is a suspicion that Amazon Japan is forcing sellers to cut prices in an irrational way,” an unnamed source told Reuters.
The Japanese unit of Amazon.com is suspected of inappropriately urging sellers to lower their prices on its e-commerce site in exchange for giving their products advantageous placement on the site.
Other local media such as The Japan Times added that the inquiry is focused on Amazon’s Buy Box programme, which puts recommended items more prominently in front of online shoppers.
The publication noted that in addition to demanding “competitive pricing,” sellers were allegedly required to use Amazon’s in-house services, such as those for logistics and payment collection, to qualify for Buy Box placement.
The Japanese FTC has not released an official statement, and neither has Amazon.
This isn’t the first time that Amazon’s Japan operations have come under scrutiny.
In March 2018, the Japanese regulator raided Amazon Japan on suspicion of demanding suppliers to shoulder part of the cost incurred from selling their products at a discount on the website.
Later that year, authorities accepted Amazon Japan’s plan to improve business practices.
Here in Australia, according to Roy Morgan research, 7.9 million Australians aged 14 years and above shopped on Amazon at least once in the 12 months to June 2024, an increase of 1.1 million customers on the previous year.
The platform is also reported to be turning into a competitor for local businesses with Goldman Sachs saying that Amazon had become the second-largest online retail business in Australia after Woolworths. Amazon’s rapid growth have led to calls for it to be more closely regulated here and even included under the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.
