eBay recently met with key Ministers and Members of Japanese Parliament in the Diet on ecommerce and SME opportunities in Japan. With the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese government is focused on innovation and exporting Japan to the world – which makes eBay’s enablement of cross border trade extremely relevant. eBay’s delegation included Takehiko Sato, eBay’s Managing Director in Japan, Stefan Krawczyk, Associate General Counsel & Head Government Relations International eBay, and Kristen Foster who is eBay’s Director of Government Relations for Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South East Asia.

The key meeting was with Kozo Yamamoto, Minister of State whose portfolio includes regional revitalization (small business forms a part of this portfolio), as well as deregulation. eBay also raised the transaction limitation issue in meetings whereby consumers can only transact up to 1 million yen on eBay via PayPal. As a result of our work, this is currently under review by the appropriate Japanese governmental authorities.

In addition to the Diet meetings, eBay sponsored the annual American Chamber of Commerce in Japan’s Charity Ball, a fixture on the Japan political calendar. Key Japanese politicians, business leaders and the United States Embassy were in attendance. eBay received a shout out for hosting CEOs of the recipient charities and senior policymakers on the night too, further lifting eBay’s profile in Japan.

eBay Government Relations will continue to work with senior members of the Japanese government on behalf of eBay customers both inside of and outside of Japan.