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Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms Compiled

December 22, 2022

Based on the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms, an Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (comprehensive online shopping malls and app stores) has been compiled for the first time since the Act came into effect.
It is expected that specified digital platform providers will voluntarily and actively strive to improve their operations based on the results of this evaluation.

1. Background and purpose

Based on Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms (Act No. 38 of 2020; hereinafter referred to as the "TFDPA"), the Minister of METI is required to evaluate the transparency and fairness of specified digital platforms.
Under the TFDPA, "specified digital platform providers" which are subject to its regulations are required to voluntarily strive to improve the transparency and fairness of specified digital platforms based on the results of this evaluation.

Note: The TFDPA has adopted a co-regulation method in which the government indicates overall directions while businesses are entrusted with voluntarily working on more specific decisions from the viewpoint of balancing innovation and regulation. The core of co-regulation is a mechanism that encourages specified digital platform providers to voluntarily improve their operations through the government’s continuous evaluations by listening to the opinions of experts and of businesses and consumers that use specified digital platforms, and it has an important role from the viewpoint of ensuring the effectiveness of the TFDPA. This mechanism and process is called "monitoring and review."

2. Outline of the assessment

Today, METI released this evaluation—the first since the TFDPA came into effect—after it had been compiled based on the opinions sent through public comments on the draft evaluation (comprehensive online shopping malls and app stores).

The specified digital platforms reviewed in this evaluation are as follows.

Business category Specified digital platform Specified digital platform providers
Comprehensive online shopping malls Amazon.co.jp Amazon Japan G.K.
Rakuten Ichiba Rakuten Group, Inc.
Yahoo! Shopping Yahoo Japan Corporation
App stores App Store Apple Inc. and iTunes K.K.
Google Play Store Google LLC

This evaluation is based on the opinions of experts from the Monitoring Meeting on the Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms (Chaired by Okada Yosuke, Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University) and relevant parties, in addition to the content of the reports submitted by the specified digital platform providers, information given to the Digital Platform Consultation Desk, and other information.

In addition, this evaluation also expresses the direction of efforts expected of specified digital platform providers, taking into consideration the guidelines set by the Minister of METI. The following are examples of initiatives through dialogs with business users and society.

It is expected that specified digital platform providers will voluntarily and actively strive to improve their operations based on the results of this evaluation. METI will closely monitor the progress of their efforts.

Note: This evaluation includes summaries of the "Individual cases regarding enforcement of the TFDPA” (April 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022). The purpose is to increase the transparency of the operation of the TFDPA and to encourage specified digital platform providers' compliance, voluntary cooperation with investigations, and implementation of improvement measures.

3. Related materials

4. References

5. Related link

Division in Charge

Digital Market Policy Office, Digital Economy Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau