Japan Tackles Digital Trade Abuses From Apple To Funeral Homes

Music and video streaming, free shipping for online shopping, and funerals are among the services of companies named in 2021 as subject to antitrust investigations by Japanese authorities, Hiroki Okuno reported for Kyodo News.

Photo Insert: Apple Store Tokyo

From global tech giant Apple Inc. to local online services, these firms provide digital platforms that are arguably credited with life-changing innovations but also posed concerns for their monopolistic influence in the market.

Amid regulatory efforts worldwide to deal with providers of such basic platforms as internet search engines, online shopping, operating systems, and social networking services, the Japan Fair Trade Commission's scrutiny of Apple came to light last September.

Apple said it will allow developers of "reader" apps on the Apple Store to include an in-app link to their website where users can set up or manage an account. The Japanese antimonopoly watchdog had been negotiating with Apple for nearly five years.

Until the change goes into effect in early 2022, all apps were required to use Apple's in-app payment system for a commission of 15 to 30 percent. It is believed to be the first time Apple has accepted an issue raised by a government authority, a "compromise" widely taken as surprising even though the change does not apply to gaming apps.

In December, the JFTC said Japan's leading e-commerce platform Rakuten Group Inc. is suspected of antitrust law violation over its free shipping program designed to rival Amazon.com Inc.

Rakuten tried in March 2020 to require free shipping of all shops on its Rakuten Ichiba online mall, prompting the JFTC to step in and resulting in launching the program on a non-compulsory basis.

Such scrutiny covers not only large companies but smaller firms can also wield anti-competitive power in digital markets, the JFTC showed when it named Uniquest Inc., which runs a funeral intermediary website, also in December.

The Osaka-based IT firm has a questionable contract system that prohibits funeral operators that use its website "Chiisana Ososhiki," meaning compact funeral, from doing business with rival websites, the commission said.

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