The Japan Fair Trade Commission raided the local unit of Amazon.com Inc. on suspicion that the e-commerce retailer was violating antitrust regulations, Reuters reported March 15, citing a statement from Amazon Japan.
The report, which also cited Kyodo news agency, said Amazon Japan was suspected of asking suppliers to pay fees for selling their items at discounts on its platform.
Amazon Japan's spokesperson said the company was cooperating fully with the regulator, the report said. However, the spokesperson did not give details about the possible violation.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission reportedly declined to comment on the case.
Reuters added that, in a previous antitrust investigation that ended in June 2017, the regulator found that Amazon had required suppliers that sold items on other platforms to list their products on Amazon Japan at an equal or lower price. In response, the retailer had agreed to abandon the policy.
