Evaluation of Transparency and Fairness for Specified Digital Platforms Compiled

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, the “specified digital platform providers” which are subject to its regulations are required to voluntarily strive to improve the transparency and fairness of their 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 undertaking 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 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. Assessment

Today, METI released this evaluation after it had been compiled based on the public comments process on the draft evaluation conducted from Friday, October 24, 2025, to Monday, November 24, 2025. This marks the fourth evaluation of comprehensive online shopping malls and app stores, and the third evaluation of digital advertising.

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	LY Corporation
App stores	App Store	Apple Inc. and iTunes K.K.
	Google Play Store	Google LLC
Digital advertising (Media integrated advertising)*	Displaying advertisements on Google Search and YouTube	Google LLC
	Displaying advertisements on Facebook and Instagram	Meta Platforms, Inc.
	Displaying advertisements on Yahoo! Japan, LINE, and LINE Family services	LY Corporation
Digital advertising (Advertising intermediary type)	Displaying advertisements in the advertisement slots provided by the media owners	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, Faculty of Social Innovation, Seijo University) and business operators who use digital platforms, 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 stipulates the direction of efforts expected of specified digital platform providers, taking into consideration the guidelines set by the Minister of METI. Specified digital platform providers are required to voluntarily and actively strive to improve their operations based on the results of this evaluation. METI will continue to monitor the progress of specified digital platform providers' efforts to improve their operations, including monitoring and review of the next fiscal year.

If operational improvements are not made based on this evaluation, METI will consider taking measures such as issuing recommendations under the TFDPA.

Note: TikTok Pte. Ltd., which was newly designated on June 27, 2025, will be subject to reporting requirements and ministerial evaluation from FY2026, and is therefore exempt from this year's evaluation.

Related materials (in Japanese)

• Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (Comprehensive Online Shopping Malls)(PDF:923KB)
• Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (App Stores)(PDF:575KB)
• Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (Digital Advertising)(PDF:699KB)

References (in Japanese)

• Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (Summary)(PDF:1,108KB)
• Summary of the public comments that METI received and METI’s responses thereto(PDF:2,733KB)
• Opinions of the Monitoring Meeting (Comprehensive Online Shopping Malls)(PDF:648KB)
• Opinions of the Monitoring Meeting (App Stores)(PDF:492KB)
• Opinions of the Monitoring Meeting (Digital Advertising)(PDF:579KB)
• Annual Report summary (Amazon Japan G.K.)(PDF:2,583KB)
• Annual Report summary (Rakuten Group, Inc.)(PDF:1,907KB)
• Annual Report summary (LY Corporation) (Comprehensive Online Shopping Malls)(PDF:2,501KB)
• Annual Report summary (Apple Inc. and iTunes K.K.)(PDF:9,723KB)
• Annual Report summary (Google LLC) (App Stores)(PDF:110,428KB)
• Annual Report summary (Google LLC) (Digital Advertising)(PDF:1,800KB)
• Annual Report summary (Meta Platforms, Inc.)(PDF:1,653KB)
• Annual Report summary (LY Corporation) (Digital Advertising)(PDF:3,278KB)

Related links

• Digital Platforms
• Monitoring Meeting on the Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms to be Held (in Japanese)
• Evaluation on Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (in Japanese)

Division in Charge

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