Society

Seko calls for probe into Amazon's loyalty program

Feb 27 (NHK) - Japan's industry minister Hiroshige Seko has urged the country's antitrust watchdog to investigate whether Amazon Japan's new loyalty program will force vendors to shoulder a heavy financial burden.

The Japanese unit of the online retail giant plans to launch the program in late May to give shoppers refunds in the form of points worth more than one percent of their purchases. The company says it will have its suppliers pay the costs.

Seko told reporters on Tuesday that if Amazon abuses its dominant position by overburdening vendors through unilateral changes to their contracts, it would unfairly harm the competitiveness of small and medium-sized firms. The minister said such businesses rely heavily on online shopping sites. He stressed that he hopes the Fair Trade Commission will quickly investigate the matter.

The commission plans to examine the loyalty program as part of its ongoing probe into Amazon and other major web-based companies, to see if their dealing with suppliers and handling of personal data violate antitrust legislation.

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A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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