How to sell to customers in Japan

How people pay online

• In a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey cited by Stripe, 79.8% of online shoppers paid by credit card, 43.5% by e-money, 33.7% at convenience stores (konbini), 23% by internet banking and 16.1% by cash on delivery (multiple answers allowed). 1
• PayPay had 75 million registered users as of 9 August 2026, and processed 8.88 billion payments in 2025, more than 20% of Japan's 43.5 billion cashless transactions. 2
• Konbini lets customers pay for online orders in cash at FamilyMart, Lawson, Ministop and Seicomart stores, using a payment code sent at checkout. 3
• Japan's consumer ecommerce market was 26.1 trillion yen in 2024, up 5.1% from 24.8 trillion yen the year before (METI figures cited by Stripe). 1

Taking payments from abroad

• Stripe supports Konbini payments (120 to 300,000 JPY) only for Stripe accounts based in Japan. 3
• Stripe supports PayPay payments only for Stripe accounts based in Japan, in JPY. 4
• KOMOJU says merchants can add konbini and bank transfer payments to a Japanese checkout without a local entity. 5

Import tax and duty on parcels

• Imports with a total customs value of 10,000 yen or less per declaration are exempt from customs duty and consumption tax, except designated goods such as leather bags, gloves and knitted apparel, and except liquor and tobacco taxes. 6
• Japan Customs adds up split invoices and split parcels from the same sender to the same recipient when checking the 10,000 yen limit. 6
• Japan's consumption tax is 10% (8% for food and non-alcoholic drinks, excluding eating out, and some newspapers). 7
• Under the 2026 tax reform proposals, from 1 April 2028 overseas sellers of goods priced 10,000 yen or less per item with more than 10 million yen a year in such sales must collect consumption tax at sale, and large platforms become liable for these sales; registration opens 1 October 2027. 8

Where to reach buyers

• LINE had 99.0 million monthly active users in Japan in late 2025, equal to 80.5% of the population. 9
• YouTube's ad reach in Japan was 78.5 million in late 2025, 63.9% of the population. 9
• X's ad reach in Japan was 71.2 million in late 2025, 57.9% of the population. 9
• Instagram's ad reach in Japan was 63.2 million in late 2025 (51.4% of the population); TikTok reached 39.2 million adults. 9

Marketplaces

• Rakuten Ichiba has more than 100 million registered member accounts and a 27% share of Japan's ecommerce market (Fuji Keizai, 2025), and more than 1,000 overseas-affiliated merchants sell on it. 10

Common questions

1. How do people in Japan pay online?

   In a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey cited by Stripe, 79.8% of online shoppers paid by credit card, 43.5% by e-money, 33.7% at convenience stores (konbini), 23% by internet banking and 16.1% by cash on delivery (multiple answers allowed). More on payments

2. Can a business outside Japan accept the payment methods people there use?

   Stripe supports Konbini payments (120 to 300,000 JPY) only for Stripe accounts based in Japan. More on taking payments

3. Do customers in Japan pay import tax or duty on goods bought from abroad?

   Imports with a total customs value of 10,000 yen or less per declaration are exempt from customs duty and consumption tax, except designated goods such as leather bags, gloves and knitted apparel, and except liquor and tobacco taxes. More on import tax

4. Where should a business advertise to reach buyers in Japan?

   LINE had 99.0 million monthly active users in Japan in late 2025, equal to 80.5% of the population. More on ads

5. Which online marketplaces are biggest in Japan?

   Rakuten Ichiba has more than 100 million registered member accounts and a 27% share of Japan's ecommerce market (Fuji Keizai, 2025), and more than 1,000 overseas-affiliated merchants sell on it. More on marketplaces