Rakuten Ichiba

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

Japan's largest open marketplace, with the strongest repurchase engine built on points + fintech synergy; fee and shipping costs are high. Suited to merchants of repurchase-oriented categories with a Japanese entity that are willing to invest deeply in points promotions.

Entry requirements

Opening a store in Japan requires application in the name of a legal entity (company registration, bank account, Japan-based customer service and logistics capability); onboarding review and screening are strict. From July 2025 the platform began recruiting Singapore sellers and expanded its international seller network to six more countries in September; overseas brands can enter via the International Seller Program (Rakuten official press release 2025.9.30). Initial registration fee: JPY 60,000 (excl. tax, per the official store contract and fee guidelines 出店規約・料金ガイドライン). Cross-regional view: the Japan site (Rakuten Ichiba 楽天市場) and the International Seller Program (Rakuten Global Express, etc.) differ in entry qualifications and settlement currency; overseas sellers should follow the official international program rules.

Store setup checklist:

• Confirm a Japanese legal entity, bank account, and Japan-based customer service/logistics capability
• Submit the store application for Rakuten's review of documentation and qualifications (review length isn't publicly standardized and varies by seller type)
• Sign the store contract and pay the initial registration fee (JPY 60,000, excl. tax)
• Choose a store plan tier and set up the storefront, logistics, and payment methods
• Go live and use Rakuten points campaigns/coupons to build initial visibility.

Overseas sellers can follow the same path via the International Seller Program, but qualification and settlement currency follow the official international program terms.

Fee structure

The official store contract and fee guidelines (2024 revised edition) show: initial registration fee JPY 60,000 (excl. tax); monthly basic store fee tiered by plan — Gambare! Plan (がんばれ！プラン) JPY 25,000/month, Standard JPY 65,000/month, Mega Shop JPY 130,000/month (all excl. tax); system usage fee (システム利用料) billed in tiers by monthly sales — published plan rates are roughly 3.5%–6.5% on PC and 4.0%–7.0% on mobile (excl. tax; e.g., the Gambare! Plan PC tier is 6.5% up to JPY 500,000 in sales, tapering to 3.5% above JPY 10 million), plus a platform-wide 'system usage fee for transaction safety and convenience improvement' (交易安全・便利性向上システム利用料). Rakuten points campaigns (Super SALE, Okaidaimarathon お買い物マラソン shopping marathon) often require stores to bear the points' source cost (店舗原資) — an extra cost. Advertising uses Rakuten RMS ads (pay-per-click); rates and plans are per the official latest fee schedule.

Getting traffic

On-site search + category browsing + Rakuten points redemption drive traffic; points campaigns and coupons (クーポン) are the main promotional levers. Rakuten RMS ads (keyword/display placements) are the core of paid traffic, alongside Time Sale (タイムセール) limited-time offers and placements such as Rakuten TV/content. Traffic depends heavily on store ratings (reviews レビュー) and promotion participation — operational investment determines exposure.

Fulfilment & logistics

The platform has no mandatory FBA-style logistics; merchants mainly self-fulfill (home delivery 宅配便 / postal mail), meeting Rakuten's delivery rules and packaging requirements and managing timeliness themselves. Since 2020 the mandatory 'free-shipping line' (送料無料ライン, free shipping on orders of JPY 3,980 or more incl. tax) makes stores bear shipping costs (the JFTC once filed a case and applied for an emergency stop order); the new free-shipping system in March 2026 continues to shift shipping costs onto sellers. International sellers usually need a Japan local warehouse or logistics partners to meet delivery-timeliness requirements.

Payments & settlement

Receivables go through the Rakuten Pay settlement system (credit cards, Rakuten points offset, cash on delivery 代金引換, pay-later 後払い, etc.), in JPY. Settlement funds (精算金) are paid monthly by Rakuten, with store fees and other dues deducted directly (official store contract articles 13/15). Overseas sellers' settlement follows the International Seller Program terms.

Compliance

A Japanese legal entity (or International Seller Program qualification) is required, plus JCT consumption-tax invoice (インボイス) compliance. Merchants must follow the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (obligations to disclose price/shipping/returns), Rakuten's store contract and prohibited-conduct rules (strict governance of counterfeits and exaggerated claims). Dealing in used/second-hand goods requires a Secondhand Goods Dealer license (古物営業法). Rakuten's forced free-shipping and search-ranking rules have drawn attention from Japan's Fair Trade Commission (JFTC, 2020 emergency stop order), so platform-policy compliance risk needs continuous monitoring.

Key risks

1) The free-shipping system shifts costs — the March 2026 new scheme triggered another wave of large-scale merchant discontent and risks losing small/medium sellers (reported by jinfengkou/ESG Cross-border); 2) GMV growth is slowing (H1 2026 domestic EC GMV only +4.9%), and the platform faces maturity-stage growth pressure; 3) the group posted its 7th consecutive year of net loss (FY2025 net loss of ¥177.8B, mainly due to Rakuten Mobile), raising doubts about long-term investment capacity; 4) Temu/AliExpress cross-border low prices divert price-sensitive users, and the battle with Amazon Japan for No.1 intensifies; 5) the points/promotion/ad system is complex, making learning and trial-and-error costly for new sellers.

Best-fit sellers

Best suited to mid-to-large sellers with a Japanese legal entity, operating repurchase-oriented categories (daily goods, food, beauty, mother-and-baby, apparel) and willing to invest deeply in points/promotion operations. Cross-border sellers can enter via the International Seller Program. Not suited to small teams or low-margin standardized-product sellers — after the points burden + system usage fee + shipping costs stack up, profit margins are thin.