The Japanese Competition Regulatory Authority raided Amazon’s offices on suspicion that the American e-commerce giant was “abusing its dominant position” to force sellers to lower their prices, according to a source familiar with the file.
The source indicated, in confirmation of press information, that the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, which is responsible for enforcing antitrust rules in the archipelago, raided Amazon’s headquarters in Japan, and this is the third investigation targeting the company due to possible anti-competitive practices.
This time, the Authority is focusing on the “Buy Box” feature, which is a very desirable feature on the site, and allows products to be clearly highlighted.
This feature leads to intense competition between many sellers who display the same product on the platform, and who consider their appearance on this site “a matter of life or death.”
The source, who requested to remain anonymous, explained: “We have been told that having the (buy box) feature makes a big difference in sales.”
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