The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on the 11th released the responses of operators to its request to lower fees on furusato nozei intermediary sites. Among the four major companies said to account for more than 80 percent of donations made through such sites, Rakuten Group said it would keep the fees for its Rakuten Furusato Nozei service unchanged, while the other three indicated they would lower them conditionally. The ministry took issue with the fact that the fees paid by local governments account for 10 percent or more of donation amounts, and in May asked each company to reduce them, requesting responses by the end of August. The companies' fee rates range from 6.6 to 15.9 percent, and individual rates have not been disclosed. Rakuten explained that its fee rate is below 10 percent and remains at a low level. The operators of the Satofull, Furunavi, and Furusato Choice sites said they would lower their fee rates to around 3 percent for donations made through local governments' own websites and other channels, but a ministry official noted that there are not that many local government-specific sites and that it is unclear whether this will have an effect.
Rakuten Group, Inc.Ministry pressured furusato nozei operators to cut fees; Rakuten refused to lower its fees, risking regulatory scrutiny.
Satofull conditionally agreed to cut fees to around 3% for local-government channels, but a ministry official questioned whether this will have real effect.
