Overview
- The Internal Affairs Ministry, which published its survey Tuesday, said municipalities paid ¥137.9 billion in portal fees in FY2024, equal to 11.5% of portal-routed donations, and it will ask operators this month to cut charges.
- Portals handled 94.5% of all furusato donations in FY2024, which means platform pricing heavily shapes how much money reaches towns and cities.
- The fees included ¥116.6 billion for site administration and listings, ¥16.1 billion for payment processing, and ¥5.2 billion for advertising.
- About 90.6% of all fees went to the top four platforms, giving a small group of firms outsized leverage in any fee talks.
- The ministry already barred point-reward portals last October, and Rakuten has sued over that rule, signaling likely resistance as officials push for cuts.