How to Sell Online in Japan: Amazon, Rakuten, Shopify, TikTok and D2C Options

Short answer: An overseas brand can sell online in Japan without its own Japanese company in some channels, but not all. Amazon says businesses outside Japan may not need a Japan-based company. Rakuten Ichiba accepts sellers from a published list of countries and regions. TikTok Shop has been live in Japan since June 2025. A Shopify store can be run from anywhere. Crowdfunding platforms usually need a Japan-based partner. In every channel, the practical requirements are the same: Japanese product information, Japanese customer support, a way to deliver and handle returns in Japan, legal seller disclosure, and product compliance. This guide covers what to prepare for each.

For the bigger picture of how online channels fit together, read Japan Online Sales Channels in 2026 first. This guide is about entry: what each channel requires and what you need to have ready.

Before any channel: the requirements that apply everywhere

Two of these deserve emphasis because they catch overseas brands out.

Electrical products and the importer notification. Under Japan's Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act, a business importing covered electrical products must notify the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry within 30 days of starting that business, and the products must meet Japanese technical standards. JETRO notes that this also covers overseas businesses selling directly to Japanese consumers, including through online marketplaces, their own e-commerce sites or fulfilment services (JETRO, in Japanese). Wireless products also need technical conformity certification (giteki) (MIC, in Japanese).

Seller disclosure. Under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, online sellers must show, among other things, the business name, address and phone number, prices including shipping, payment and delivery timing, and return and cancellation terms (Consumer Affairs Agency, in Japanese).

This is a summary, not legal or tax advice. Consumption tax, import duties and customs procedures also apply; take professional advice for your situation. For a fuller list, see Japan Product Compliance and License Checklist.

Channel by channel

Amazon.co.jp

Who it fits: brands that want to be found when Japanese shoppers search by product name or category.

Can overseas companies apply directly? Amazon's Global Selling page for Japan says that if you're a business outside Japan, you may not be required to form a Japan-based company to sell in Japan. Existing Amazon sellers can add Japan from their Sell Globally dashboard, and new sellers start by creating a unified account (Amazon Global Selling: Japan). Amazon also asks sellers to review taxes, regulations and product compliance requirements for Japan.

Fulfilment: you can send stock to Amazon's Japanese fulfilment centres (FBA), ship yourself (FBM), or use Amazon's multichannel fulfilment for orders from other channels.

Costs: Amazon Japan's published pricing is ¥4,900 a month (excluding tax) for a professional account, or ¥100 per item on the individual plan, plus a referral fee that is 5% to 15.4% in most categories, plus fulfilment costs (Amazon Japan pricing, in Japanese).

What to prepare: a Japanese listing with full specifications and use scenes, compliant products, a plan for Japanese customer questions and returns, and stock in Japan if you want fast delivery.

Rakuten Ichiba

Who it fits: brands that want their own shop inside a marketplace built as a mall of individual stores, with room for storytelling and promotions.

Can overseas companies apply directly? According to Rakuten's own announcement of 30 September 2025, businesses from 22 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, much of Europe, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore, can open a store without a Japanese headquarters, provided they meet Rakuten Ichiba's standards. Rakuten said overseas sellers exceeded 1,000 companies at that point and that multilingual consultants support them in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean and other languages (Rakuten, via PR TIMES, in Japanese).

What to prepare: a Japanese shop design and product pages, participation in Rakuten campaigns, customer service in Japanese, and the operational time to run a storefront. Rakuten publishes its merchant plans and fees on its merchant site; check the current terms directly (Rakuten Ichiba for merchants, in Japanese).

Yahoo! Shopping

Who it fits: brands adding reach alongside Amazon and Rakuten.

Can overseas companies apply directly? We couldn't verify Yahoo! Shopping's current eligibility rules for overseas businesses on its official pages. Third-party guides describe applications using Japanese corporate registration details, which suggests many overseas brands enter through a Japanese company or partner. Confirm directly with Yahoo! Shopping before planning.

TikTok Shop

Who it fits: products that sell through demonstration and creator content.

Status: TikTok launched TikTok Shop in Japan on 30 June 2025, with shoppable videos, live shopping and a creator affiliate programme (TikTok Japan, via PR TIMES, in Japanese).

Can overseas companies apply directly? The launch announcement doesn't set out eligibility for overseas sellers, and third-party reports describe options that change over time. Check TikTok Shop's seller registration for the current rules for your country and fulfilment set-up.

What to prepare: video-ready demonstrations, a creator plan with clear disclosure (Japan's stealth marketing rules apply to sponsored content), and stock that can ship quickly in Japan.

Shopify and your own brand store

Who it fits: every brand, as the home for the full story, customer data and margin.

Can overseas companies use it? Yes. Shopify is available internationally and publishes Japanese pricing and Japanese payment options (Shopify Japan pricing, in Japanese).

What to prepare: a Japanese-language store (not a machine translation), Japanese payment methods, delivery and returns within Japan, the seller disclosure page, and a traffic plan. A brand store has no built-in audience, so visitors have to come from PR, creators, crowdfunding or advertising.

Crowdfunding: Makuake, CAMPFIRE, GREEN FUNDING

Who it fits: new products that can make the launch itself the news.

Can overseas companies apply directly? It depends on the platform. Makuake accepts overseas-based project owners after screening, if they can run the project page and support backers in Japanese, deliver within Japan and have the required certifications. CAMPFIRE requires a project owner with a Japanese address and bank account, so overseas teams usually list through a Japan-based member. Details and sources are in Makuake vs CAMPFIRE vs GREEN FUNDING.

Marketplace or D2C: how to sequence

How PR supports online sales

Online channels capture demand; they rarely create it. Japanese shoppers search for products they've heard of and buy from brands that look established in Japan. Media coverage, creator content and a Japanese product story are what create those searches and that trust. That holds for a marketplace listing, a TikTok live stream or your own store alike.

Common mistakes

• Launching listings before compliance is sorted, especially for electrical, wireless, beauty or food-contact products.
• Machine-translated listings. Japanese shoppers notice immediately.
• No Japanese support or returns process. Unanswered questions turn into bad reviews.
• Inconsistent product names and prices across channels.
• Expecting a listing to sell an unknown product.

Where Gloture fits

Gloture is a product PR company. We don't open or operate marketplace stores, manage advertising, handle fulfilment or give legal or tax advice. We help overseas brands turn product information into a Japanese product story, release it, reach Japanese media, feature products on Modern-G and report the coverage, so that the channels you open have demand and trust behind them. Gloture's Japan PR projects start from a PR budget of ¥300,000.

Online entry checklist