Abstract

Yahoo Japan Corporation, a joint venture between US-based Yahoo Inc. and Japan-based SoftBank Corporation, is the largest integrated information portal in Japan. Yahoo Japan's online auctions, launched in 1999, became one of the most popular sites in Yahoo Japan's portal. The case discusses Yahoo Japan's entry into the online auctions market and examines some of the strategies that it followed. It concludes with a brief description of Yahoo Japan Auction's agreement with eBay US, facilitating cross-border bidding.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Examine Yahoo's entry and expansion in Japan.
• Understand Yahoo Japan's strategies for online auctions.
• Analyze the reasons for the success of Yahoo Japan Auctions.

Keywords

Yahoo, Internet, Japan, Online Auctions, Online Marketplace, Auction website, eBay Japan, e-commerce, C2C (consumer to consumer)