Overview
- The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, reduced a lower-court award and ordered Amazon Japan to pay about ¥2 million to one plaintiff over a disputed pulse oximeter listing.
- The appeals court overturned most of the district court's damages, which had ordered roughly ¥35 million, and limited compensation to a single product rather than the three items found liable in the first trial.
- Judge Mikiko Miki said Amazon has discretion in how it investigates counterfeit claims but must act when sellers submit reasonable, objective evidence, and held that deleting an entire sales page in this case amounted to a breach.
- The plaintiffs, Kobe-based TryandE and Excel Plan, argued China-made fakes were sold on Amazon at about one-tenth the genuine price and that those listings reduced their legitimate sales, a central basis for their original ¥280 million claim.
- The ruling clarifies how Japan may treat platform responsibility for 'co-listing' pages that aggregate multiple sellers on one product page and could prompt sellers and marketplaces to sharpen evidence and takedown procedures.