Weak yen drives U.S. shoppers to Japan proxy sites

Foreign buyers get their hands on specialty Japanese goods at hefty discounts

Proxy sites provide consumers outside Japan with direct access to some of the country's biggest e-commerce platforms. (Photo by Tatsuhiro Yuki)

JACK STONE TRUITT, Nikkei staff writer

May 1, 2024 23:18 JST

NEW YORK -- Foreign consumers are flocking to online proxy shopping sites to buy Japanese goods as the yen fell to a 34-year low this week.

Proxy shopping services provide consumers outside Japan direct access to domestic e-commerce platforms like Mercari or Yahoo Japan, which often require a Japanese address for purchases. The proxies then forward the purchases to the buyer outside of the country.