- Amazon.co.jp is a catalogue you list into; Rakuten Ichiba is a mall where you run your own shop
- Overseas sellers must solve the importer of record, product compliance (PSE, radio, food, cosmetics) and Japanese customer service before launch
- Points and scheduled sale events shape when and where Japanese shoppers buy
- Japanese listings need far more detail than UK or US ones — sizes, materials, instructions, delivery and returns, all in natural Japanese
Japan's marketplace landscape
Japanese online shopping is concentrated in a handful of large platforms. The two that matter most for most Western brands are Amazon.co.jp and Rakuten Ichiba, with Yahoo! Shopping (part of LY Corporation, alongside LINE) a strong third. Category specialists also carry real weight: ZOZOTOWN for fashion, @cosme for beauty, and Qoo10 among younger shoppers.
Amazon and Rakuten are close rivals in scale, but they are built on opposite ideas — and that difference shapes everything about how you sell.
Amazon vs Rakuten: same goal, opposite models
| Amazon.co.jp | Rakuten Ichiba | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Unified catalogue. You list against a product page; the buy box decides who sells | A mall of independent shops. Each seller has its own storefront, design and customer relationship |
| What wins | Price, availability, delivery speed, reviews | Points, campaigns, shop reputation, rich product pages, loyalty |
| Customer data | Amazon owns the relationship | Shops can build repeat customers and newsletters |
| Look and feel | Standardised, clean | Long, image-heavy, dense product pages — deliberately so |
| Loyalty engine | Prime | Rakuten points, used across Rakuten's card, bank, mobile and travel services |
| Getting started | Relatively quick for overseas sellers via Seller Central Japan | More involved; many foreign brands enter through a Japanese partner or agency |
If you have only ever sold on Amazon in the UK or US, Rakuten's product pages will look chaotic — enormous vertical images, banners, badges and point multipliers. That is not bad design; it is a sales format Japanese shoppers know how to read. We look at why in our guide to Japanese website design.
What overseas sellers must sort out first
Importer of record
Goods entering Japan need an importer of record (IOR) who takes responsibility for customs clearance and duties. Amazon Japan does not act as your IOR, so overseas sellers sending stock to fulfilment centres typically use a Japanese partner, distributor or specialist IOR service.
Product compliance
- Electrical products — many require the PSE mark under the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act.
- Wireless devices — anything with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi needs Japanese radio certification (commonly called giteki). A CE or FCC mark is not accepted.
- Food and kitchenware — subject to the Food Sanitation Act, including rules on materials in contact with food.
- Cosmetics and skincare — importing and selling requires a licensed marketing authorisation holder in Japan and Japanese ingredient labelling.
Marketplaces actively remove listings that lack required certification, so this is not a paperwork detail you can fix later.
Japanese customer service
Customers will write to you in Japanese and expect a polite, fast, accurate reply — ideally within one business day. See what Japanese customers expect from service.
The Japanese shopping calendar
Japanese online shopping is intensely event-driven. Shoppers wait for campaigns, and many plan purchases around point multipliers.
- Rakuten Super SALE — four times a year, the biggest Rakuten events
- Rakuten “Shopping Marathon” — monthly; buying from multiple shops raises the points rate
- Amazon Prime Day (summer) and Black Friday (late November), which has become a major event in Japan
- Seasonal gifting — ochūgen (summer) and oseibo (winter) corporate and family gifts; fukubukuro lucky bags at New Year
- “New life” season (March–April), when students and new employees move and furnish homes
A launch timed without this calendar in mind will usually underperform. Plan stock, pricing and advertising around it.
Writing listings Japanese shoppers trust
A UK Amazon listing is designed to be scanned. A Japanese listing is designed to be read and checked. Expect to add:
- Exact dimensions and weight, with sizing in Japanese conventions (clothing and shoe sizes differ)
- Materials, country of manufacture and care instructions
- What is in the box, and what is not
- Delivery time from dispatch, and how returns work
- Close-up images of texture, stitching, labels and packaging
- Answers to the questions a careful shopper would ask before buying
Search on Japanese marketplaces also depends on the right Japanese terms — including the kanji/katakana variants discussed in our Japan SEO guide. And remember that Japanese reviewers are demanding: a three-star review in Japan is often a satisfied customer with one small reservation.
Where to start
- Validate demandCheck Japanese search volume and what already sells in your category on both platforms.
- Solve compliance and importCertification, importer of record, labelling.
- Start on one platformUsually Amazon for speed, unless your brand depends on storytelling and repeat purchase.
- Write listings nativelyJapanese copywriting, not translation.
- Plan around the calendarLaunch before an event, not during one.
- Add Rakuten, LINE and socialOnce you have operations and reviews, broaden the funnel.
Having run the Japan market end to end for a global furniture brand, I have seen how much of a Japan launch is decided before anything goes on sale — in compliance, in copy and in timing. That is the stage where an insider is most useful.
Frequently asked questions
Can a UK or US company sell on Amazon Japan without a Japanese entity?
Yes, overseas companies can register through Seller Central Japan. However, for goods imported into Japan (including stock sent to Amazon's fulfilment centres) you need an importer of record in Japan, and you must meet Japanese product regulations and provide Japanese-language customer support.
Is Rakuten or Amazon better for a foreign brand?
It depends on the brand. Amazon is faster to start and strong for search-driven, replenishable products. Rakuten suits brands that want a storefront, loyalty and campaign-driven sales, and has a very loyal customer base built around Rakuten points. Many brands start on Amazon and add Rakuten once they have Japanese operations or a partner.
Do I need to translate my listings into Japanese?
Yes — and translation alone is not enough. Japanese shoppers search in Japanese, expect detailed specifications and sizing, and judge credibility partly on how natural the Japanese is. Machine-translated listings are easy to spot and depress conversion.