JFTC approves Amazon's improvement plan to ease listing price conditions - taking the lead in other countries

On the 11th, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, which had been investigating Amazon Japan, a major internet retailer, for allegedly violating the Antimonopoly Act (unfair trade practices) by asking sellers on its website to reduce prices, applied an administrative sanction called the ``commitment procedure,'' and certified the improvement plan that the company had applied for.

As a result, the company will not be found to have violated antitrust laws, but the JFTC will monitor the implementation status of the plan for five years.

According to the improvement plan, the company announced that it will revise the current system that requires recommended products to be displayed at a price lower than the lowest price on other online shopping sites for recommended products that are displayed where consumers can easily see them. The company said it will improve product pages within six months and display products from sellers with the lowest prices on Amazon in an easy-to-understand way for consumers, even if the price is not lower than the lowest price.

According to the JFTC, the company refers to the lowest prices for products sold on other sites such as Rakuten Market as "competitive prices." In 2019, in order for a product to be displayed as a recommended product on its website, it had to be listed at the same price or lower.

Amazon, the largest online shopping site in Japan, has a large market, and most of the products purchased are recommended products that are displayed in prominent locations. Sellers had no choice but to comply with the conditions presented by the company, and some were reportedly selling at a loss.

The JFTC determined that the company's conditions restrict the company's ability to freely set prices, and there is a risk that it could effectively demand price reductions. The agency conducted an on-site inspection of the company in November 2024 and is continuing to investigate, alleging that it is undermining fair competition among online shopping sites.

Lawsuits and investigations by fair trade authorities are underway in the United States, Germany, and Canada over Amazon's "competitive prices." According to the JFTC, with this certification, it is expected that improvements will be made ahead of other countries.