Business / Corporate Mar 6, 2020
Rakuten puts free delivery plan on hold after backlash from retailers
Rakuten’s retailers have made it clear that they are not all on board with shouldering the shipping costs.
Business / Tech Mar 5, 2020
SoftBank to be first in Japan to launch 5G services, on March 27
Rivals NTT Docomo Inc. and KDDI Corp. are expected to reveal their own plans soon.
Business Mar 5, 2020
Japan e-commerce sites crack down on profiteering from COVID-19 fears
by Tomohiro Osaki
Price-gouging to exploit the epidemic is so prevalent that even the government is weighing in.
Business Mar 3, 2020
Rakuten Inc. Chairman and President Hiroshi Mikitani said Tuesday that his company will start full-scale mobile phone services April 8. Rakuten's full entry into the Japanese mobile phone market is expected to trigger severe price competition with the three main carriers — NTT Docomo, KDDI ...
Business / Corporate Mar 2, 2020
Rakuten Mobile to woo Japan's heavy data users with half-price plans
Rakuten Inc.'s mobile phone unit will charge less than half the fees its rivals do for high data usage, hoping to entice subscribers when it launches services next month as Japan's fourth entrant to the market, sources close to the matter said Monday. The e-commerce ...
Business / Corporate Feb 28, 2020
Rakuten's plan to force shipping costs on retailers draws ire of Japan's FTC
The Fair Trade Commission said Friday it has asked a court to halt Rakuten Inc.'s plan to make retailers on its online marketplace shoulder the cost of free shipping amid complaints about the policy. The antitrust watchdog submitted the request to the Tokyo District Court ...
Business Feb 10, 2020
Japan's antitrust watchdog searches Rakuten office over its free shipping policy
The antitrust watchdog Monday searched Rakuten Inc.'s head office in Tokyo over the internet mall operator's plan to make marketplace tenants shoulder the cost of its proposed free shipping service, sources close to the matter said. The Fair Trade Commission last month launched an investigation ...
Business / Corporate Jan 29, 2020
Antitrust watchdog launches probe into Rakuten's free delivery plan
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has started investigating online mall operator Rakuten Inc.'s plan to make marketplace merchants shoulder the costs of its proposed free shipping service, a source close to the matter said Wednesday. The source said the antitrust watchdog has begun hearing from ...
Business Jan 28, 2020
Tech giants will have to report annually to Japan on business practices
The obligation will be included in a bill to prevent them from taking advantage of their dominant positions against smaller retailers.
Business / Corporate Jan 23, 2020
Rakuten to expand free mobile phone trial before launch of full service
E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc.'s mobile phone unit said Thursday it would expand its free mobile phone trial service, currently limited to 5,000 users in major cities, ahead of its April launch of a full-scale wireless service. Rakuten Mobile Inc. said it would provide the free ...
Business / Corporate Jan 22, 2020
Online sellers petition for antitrust probe into Rakuten free shipping policy
A group of merchants on Rakuten Inc.'s online shopping mall on Wednesday submitted a petition with some 4,000 signatures to the Fair Trade Commission, asking it to investigate the e-commerce giant's planned free shipping policy. The union of more than 300 sellers on Rakuten alleges ...
Business / Corporate Jan 19, 2020
Rakuten faces backlash from cybermall tenants over free delivery plan
Rakuten Inc.'s plans to scrap delivery fees for certain purchases on its shopping site are drawing harsh responses from tenants who complain the company's move violates the antimonopoly law. Some tenants at the Rakuten Ichiba cybermall plan to ask the Fair Trade Commission to investigate ...