How to start an online shop in Japan – from planning to launch

Four decisions to make before you open

The most common stumble is starting to build the store and only then realizing that shipping fees or the target customer are still undecided. Write these four points down first.

• What you sell: product types and count, sourced or self-made, stocked or made to order
• Who you sell to: age group and use, gift demand, Japan only or overseas as well
• Your price: does a profit remain after cost, payment fees, shipping and packaging?
• Your capacity: who handles orders, packing, shipping and customer questions, and when

Pricing deserves the most care. Once you know the profit per order including shipping and fees, decisions like a free-shipping threshold or bundle offers become much easier.

Marketplace or your own online store?

There are two main ways to open an online shop in Japan: list on a marketplace such as Rakuten Ichiba or Amazon, or run your own store. Marketplaces bring existing traffic, so first orders tend to come sooner. In return you pay listing and sales fees, and design and customer data follow the marketplace's rules.

Your own store lets you express your brand freely and build direct relationships with customers, while bringing in visitors becomes your job. The main options are:

• BASE: a plan with no setup or monthly fee and a very simple admin panel – good for testing with a small range
• Shopify: a monthly fee, with wide design and app options that scale well to more products and overseas sales
• WordPress + WooCommerce: adds a shop to an existing WordPress site, handy if articles and products live together; you manage hosting and updates yourself

The right choice depends on your product count, who updates the store and how you plan to sell later. See our e-commerce platform comparison for the details, and starting an online shop for free if you want to keep initial costs low.

Registration and permits

If you sell on an ongoing basis as an individual, the standard step is to file a notice of business commencement (kaigyo todoke) with the tax office, in principle within one month of starting. If you want the blue tax return system, prepare that application at the same time.

Some products also need a permit or license before you sell:

• Food: if you produce or process food, a business permit or notification at the local health center may be required
• Second-hand goods: reselling used items you bought requires a secondhand dealer permit via the police
• Alcohol: online liquor sales need a mail-order liquor retail license from the tax office
• Cosmetics and supplements: wording is regulated by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act, so effects cannot be claimed as certain
• Imported goods: electrical products, food and others have their own labeling and notification rules

Requirements depend on your products and sales model, and rules are revised from time to time. When in doubt, check with the relevant health center, tax office or police station before you open.

Payments, shipping and the legal notice page

Whether customers feel safe buying depends a lot on payment choice and clear shipping information. Shopify and BASE include built-in payments, so you can offer credit cards along with convenience store payment, bank transfer, buy-now-pay-later and ID payments. For shipping, choose courier or mailbox-size services to match your product sizes, and prepare a clear shipping fee table.

Every online shop in Japan needs a notice based on the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions. It typically lists:

• Seller name, address, phone number and the person responsible
• Prices including tax, plus shipping and any other costs
• Payment methods and timing
• Delivery timing
• Whether returns and exchanges are accepted, and on what terms

Individual sellers may, under certain conditions, state that the address and phone number will be disclosed promptly on request. Check the Consumer Affairs Agency's current guidance for the details. A privacy policy and clear shipping and returns pages also cut down on customer questions.

Pre-launch checklist

Once products and pages are in place, run through a real purchase yourself. A test order shows quickly where a customer might get stuck.

• On a phone, can you find a product, add it to the cart and pay without confusion?
• Are photos bright and do they show size and texture? Do descriptions cover materials, sizes and care notes?
• Do order confirmation and shipping emails arrive with the shop name and contact details?
• Do shipping fees, delivery times and return terms match on product pages and guide pages?
• Can visitors reach the legal notice, privacy policy and contact page from anywhere?
• Is GA4 set up so you can see where visitors come from and how many orders you get?

Start promotion at launch: posts on Instagram, product listings on Google Shopping and search-friendly product pages are the usual first steps. For the build itself, see how to build an e-commerce site.

How UNANOBO helps you open: a free demo store first

Before you commit to anything, UNANOBO builds a free demo store based on your brand and products. You check the home page and product pages on your computer and phone, and decide whether to go ahead once you like the direction. The demo is also a practical way to decide between Shopify, BASE and WooCommerce.

The process is simple: free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, from the first demo to promotion after launch, including payment and shipping setup and the legal notice page. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English. For more on the build itself, see online shop creation.