Japan competition authorities raid Amazon Japan, source says

TOKYO :Japan's Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of Amazon Japan on suspicion of violating anti-monopoly laws, a government source said.

The unit of Amazon.com Inc is suspected of inappropriately urging sellers to lower their prices on its e-commerce site in exchange for giving their products advantageous placement on the site, the source said.

"There is a suspicion that Amazon Japan is forcing sellers to cut prices in an irrational way," said the source, who declined to be named as an official announcement has yet to be issued.

Amazon Japan did not immediately respond to an email query about the raid.

Amazon is likely to face an EU investigation next year into whether it favours its own brand products on its online marketplace as European antitrust regulators build up a case under landmark rules, Reuters reported last week.

The Japanese regulator previously raided Amazon Japan in March 2018 on suspicion of demanding suppliers to shoulder part of the cost incurred from selling their products at a discount on the website. The authorities accepted Amazon Japan's plan to improve business practices in September of that year.