People are rushing to sign up for furusato nо̄zei hometown donation system before the government tightens rules on donating through intermediate websites.
Website operators are holding events and campaigns to lure customers before the government bans them from giving reward points to donors, effective next month.
E-commerce firm Rakuten will hold an event at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center on Sunday and Monday, where people can see gifts that municipalities provide in return for donations. Officials from more than 170 municipalities across the country will get together at the event.
The amount donated through Rakuten's furusato nо̄zei website, the largest of such websites, doubled in the first 25 days of August from a year before.
Amazon Japan recently held a similar promotion event in Tokyo. "We need to appeal now as the ban on points is expected to lead to a decrease in donations," a municipal official said.
LY, which operates messaging app Line and internet portal Yahoo, will give reward points of 100% of the donation amount by lot this month to customers who use its furusato nо̄zei website for the first time. A similar campaign is under way by i-Mobile.
Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami on Tuesday warned website operators against rushing to increase reward points related to furusato nо̄zei donations. Rakuten has sued the government, criticizing the ban.
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