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June 07, 2025
 

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E COMMERCE

Under the "digital address" system launched by Japan Post, users can input seven-digit combinations of numbers and letters on online shopping and other websites, and their addresses will automatically appear on the sites.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2025
Japan Post launches 'digital address' system
Under the system, users can input seven-digit codes on online shopping websites, and their addresses will automatically appear on the sites.
At a warehouse managed by online grocer BigBasket in central Mumbai, employees work with military-like precision to pull off deliveries in just 10 minutes.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025
In India's congested cities, delivery apps cash in
Delivery apps have faltered elsewhere in recent years, but sales in India have soared from $100 million in 2020 to an estimated $6 billion in 2024.
Questionable websites appear to be taking advantage of consumers looking for cheaper rice online amid the high prices of the staple grain in the nation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2025
Beware of dubious websites offering cheap rice, consumer watchdog warns
The Consumer Affairs Agency urges consumers to verify the legitimacy of websites offering rice at unusually low prices before making any purchase.
Rakuten Group's stock dropped after the Japanese e-commerce firm reported a 19th straight quarterly loss, fueling concerns about the financial drag from its ailing mobile business.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2025
Rakuten Group shares sink on worse-than-expected quarterly loss
The stock plunged as much as 10% in Tokyo on Thursday, its biggest intraday drop since April 7.
Amazon packages at a distribution center in Washington
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025
Amazon denies tariff label pivot after Trump called to complain
The administration’s broadsides against Amazon on Tuesday highlighted the potential political risk for companies if they decide to break out the cost of tariffs for customers.
Takahiro Fujii (center), the president of Try and E, and his lawyers speak during a news conference on Friday in Tokyo after a ruling was handed down in a case against Amazon Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2025
Tokyo court fines Amazon Japan ¥35 million over counterfeit products
Presiding Judge Yuko Shintani deemed Amazon’s response to the issue to be “indicative of willful misconduct, or at the very least, gross negligence.”
Learning the ropes of Japan’s online marketplaces can yield hidden treasures and also help you freshen up your home or closet from time to time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 31, 2025
How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
Looking to refresh your wardrobe or home with the arrival of spring? Check out our tips for how to make the most of Japan’s online marketplaces.
Jasper Cheung, head of Amazon Japan (second from the left), which will enter the "furusato nozei" hometown donation intermediary business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024
Amazon Japan to enter 'furusato nōzei' business
Amazon aims to differentiate its service from other sites by delivering gifts as quickly as one day after donations are made.
Boxes lie on a conveyor belt during Cyber Monday at Amazon's fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, on Dec. 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024
Amazon faces possible U.S. strikes as Christmas looms
The online retail giant has successfully resisted several unionization drives over the years.
Mannequins are displayed inside a lingerie showroom at WeMet Industrial Park in the Guanyun county of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, on Nov. 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 16, 2024
China's 'erotic clothing' capital braces for e-commerce crackdown
The development of the lingerie industry in eastern Guanyun county in China has exploded partly due to a U.S. tariff exemption likely to soon be curtailed or scrapped.
Rakuten Group is targeting the sale of as much as $550 million of subordinated notes with price talk for the deal at around 8.375%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024
Rakuten targets its lowest-cost junk bond sale since 2021
The e-commerce giant is targeting the sale of as much as $550 million of subordinated notes that can be called after five years.
Rakuten Group is considering the sale of hybrid perpetual notes that can be called after five years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024
Rakuten plans return to dollar bond market with hybrid notes
Rakuten’s liquidity has improved but an increased reliance on the dollar bond market may indicate weakened domestic funding access.
In the United States, Temu has bid on keywords including "Walmart Black Friday deals," "Kohls Black Friday," and "Bed Bath Beyond." Shein has bid on keywords including "Walmart clothes," "Zara jeans," and "Mango dresses."
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 28, 2024
Online marketing costs jump amid bidding war by Temu and Shein
Both platforms' aggressive bids on search keywords used by competitors make it more costly for other retailers and brands to reach shoppers on Black Friday.
Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024
Japan investigating Amazon for allegedly bullying other businesses
Tactics allegedly employed by the retailer involve the squeezing of business partners in exchange for visibility.
Amazon Japan allegedly pressured sellers to lower prices of their products in exchange for advantageous placement on their “Buy Box” system, which highlights one seller’s product as the preferred choice on a product page.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2024
Antitrust watchdog raids Amazon Japan over alleged price-fixing
The investigation is focused on potential breaches of antitrust laws, including abuse of a superior bargaining position and restrictive trading practices.
Mercari signage at the company's office in Tokyo in September 2020.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
Mercari to enhance item verification process to check frauds
The company has been criticized on social media for not responding appropriately to sellers' complaints that different items from what they sold were returned by buyers.
Rakuten's sale of 15% stake in its credit card arm to Mizuho Financial Group would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2024
Rakuten sells Mizuho 15% of credit card arm for ¥165 billion
The sale would give the e-commerce pioneer a one-time gain of ¥159.4 billion in the current quarter, Rakuten said in a statement Wednesday.
Shopify, whose key selling point is lower prices for its suite of e-commerce services, has been cheekily calling out Salesforce’s penchant for wining and dining potential clients.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 30, 2024
Shopify is winning Salesforce clients, stoking e-commerce rivalry
The Canadian company — for years the go-to for mom-and-pop businesses looking to set up shop online — is setting its sights on larger companies in a dramatic shift.
The Consumer Affairs Agency is warning against fake websites that lure consumers into purchasing unrelated or counterfeit products.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2024
Consumer watchdog warns against fake electronics sites
The sites, often promoted via social media ads, are luring consumers into purchasing unrelated or counterfeit products.
The industry ministry plans to set up a liaison committee of officials from relevant government agencies to discuss support measures for brick-and-mortar bookstores.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2024
Ministry reports issues facing bookstores
The ministry will set up by year-end a liaison committee of officials from relevant government agencies to fully launch discussions on support measures for bookstores.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Trump and Musk trade barbs on social media as alliance crumbles
The trouble between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk started brewing days ago, when Musk denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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