Rakuten Ichiba

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

Na di biggest open marketplace for Japan; points + finance synergy dey give di strongest repeat purchase, but fee rate an shipping cost dey high. E dey good for merchants wey get Japan entity an dey ready to invest deep for points promotion, repeat-purchase-type categories.

Entry requirements

To open shop for Japan domestic, you must apply as legal entity (company registration, bank account, Japan domestic customer service an logistics ability), entry review dey strict. From 2025 July dem start recruiting Singapore sellers, September expand 6 more countries international seller network; overseas brands fit enter through international seller program (Rakuten official press release 2025.9.30). Initial registration fee 6 ten-thousand yen (excl. tax, official shop regulations & fee guidelines). Cross-region view: Japan site (Rakuten Ichiba) an international seller program (Rakuten Global Express etc) dey differ for entry qualification an settlement currency; overseas sellers as e dey for di official international program rules.

Fee structure

Official shop regulations & fee guidelines (2024 revision) show: initial registration fee 6 ten-thousand yen (excl. tax). Monthly basic shop fee dey tier by plan — Gambare! Plan 25,000 yen/month, Standard 65,000 yen/month, Mega Shop 130,000 yen/month (all excl. tax). System usage fee dey charge by monthly sales tier; public plan fee range about PC 3.5%–6.5%, mobile 4.0%–7.0% (excl. tax, e.g. Gambare! Plan PC tier 500,000 yen below 6.5% reduce down to over 10 million yen 3.5%), plus platform common transaction-safety/convenience system usage fee. Rakuten points activities (Super SALE, shopping marathon) often require shop to bear points funding (shop funding) — na extra cost. Advertising na Rakuten RMS ads (pay per click), fee rate an packages as e dey for di official latest fee table.

Getting traffic

On-site search + category browse + Rakuten points redemption traffic; points activities an coupons na di main promotion lever. Rakuten RMS ads (keyword/display position) na di core paid traffic; e still get time-sale limited-time sale, Rakuten TV/content etc resource positions. Traffic dey depend heavily on shop star rating an promotion participation; operation investment dey decide exposure.

Fulfilment & logistics

Platform no get self-built FBA-style forced logistics; seller self-shipment (home delivery/parcel post) na main, need to meet Rakuten delivery rules an packaging requirements an manage delivery time yourself. From 2020, free-shipping line (incl. tax 3,980 yen above free shipping) dey compulsory, shop dey carry shipping cost (JFTC once file case an apply emergency stop order); 2026 March new free-shipping system dey continue to shift shipping cost to sellers. International sellers usually need to build Japan local warehouse or cooperate with logistics provider to meet delivery time requirement.

Payments & settlement

Collection through Rakuten Pay settlement system (credit card, Rakuten points deduction, cash on delivery, pay-later etc), currency na yen. Settlement money dey pay monthly by Rakuten, and dem dey deduct shop fees etc from am directly (official shop regulations article 13/15). Overseas seller settlement as e dey for di international seller program terms.

Compliance

Need Japan legal entity (or international seller program qualification), get JCT consumption tax invoice compliance. Follow Specified Commercial Transactions Act (price/shipping/return disclosure duty) an Rakuten shop regulations, prohibited-behavior rules (fake goods/exaggerated advertising governance dey strict). For second-hand, need Used Goods Business Act license. Rakuten forced shipping an search ranking rules once attract Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) attention (2020 emergency stop order); platform policy compliance risk need continuous tracking.

Key risks

1) Free-shipping system cost shifting — 2026.3 new system again trigger large-scale seller dissatisfaction, small/medium seller loss risk (jinfengkou/ESG cross-border report); 2) GMV growth slow (H1 2026 domestic EC GMV only +4.9%), mature platform growth dey under pressure; 3) Group seventh consecutive year net loss (FY2025 net loss ¥177.8B, mainly due to Rakuten Mobile), long-term investment ability dey questioned; 4) Temu/AliExpress cross-border low price dey take price-sensitive users, fight with Amazon Japan for number one dey intensify; 5) Points/promotion/advertising system dey complex, new seller learning an trial-and-error cost dey high.

Best-fit sellers

E dey best for medium/large sellers wey get Japan legal entity, dey run repeat-purchase categories (daily goods, food, beauty, mother-and-baby, apparel) an dey ready to invest in points/promotion deep operation. Cross-border sellers fit enter through international seller program. E no dey good for small teams, low-gross-margin standard-product sellers — points burden + system usage fee + shipping cost combine after, profit space dey thin.

Sources

research/sections/jp_platforms.md 5.2.1; 各地区电商平台Top5深度研究报告.md 5.1; 楽天市場出店規約・料金ガイドライン https://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/_sales/pdf/disclosure/01_kiyaku_guideline.pdf; 楽天出店料改定案内 https://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/_sales/pdf/notice_price_revision_2024.pdf; Rakuten 国际卖家新闻稿 https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2025/0930_03.html; JFTC 2020 紧急停止命令 https://www.jftc.go.jp/houdou/pressrelease/2020/feb/200228honbun.pdf; ESG跨境 https://www.eservicesgroup.com.cn/news/178669.html; jinfengkou https://www.jinfengkou.com/show-140847.html

Rakuten Ichiba appear for di Top-5 lists of 1 regions: Japan.

• Japan（#1）：Rakuten Points closed loop across ecommerce / finance (Card/Bank) / mobile

Every figure come from dat region Top-5 report and source audit. No cross-region conversion or new estimates: