In 2021, Amazon's CEO changed from Jeff Bezos to Andy Jassy. For sellers wondering whether this change at the top also changed how Amazon treats or reviews sellers, this article separates the facts of the transition, the management changes that followed, and the rule changes actually applied to Japanese sellers. We also cover how to read this kind of news and a routine for not missing policy changes.
What Happened in the 2021 CEO Transition: From Announcement to Taking Office
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| February 2, 2021 | Amazon announces that Bezos will move to the role of Executive Chair (取締役会の執行会長) in Q3 2021, with Jassy becoming CEO. Bezos's email to employees is also published the same day |
| April 15, 2021 | Bezos publishes his final shareholder letter as CEO (covering fiscal year 2020) |
| July 5, 2021 | Jassy becomes President and CEO, and is also elected to the board of directors effective the same day (per SEC filings) |
In his email to employees, Bezos explained that as Executive Chair he would focus on new products and early-stage initiatives, and would also devote time to efforts such as the Day 1 Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund. Bezos remains on the board today but has stepped back from day-to-day management (per filings submitted in 2026).
Jassy's Career: What SEC Filings Show
Jassy joined Amazon in 1997 and led AWS (Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud computing business for enterprise customers) from its early days. He served as Senior Vice President of AWS from April 2006 to April 2016, and as CEO of AWS from April 2016 to July 2021.
Division leadership has changed as well: Doug Herrington has served as CEO of the retail division since July 2022, and Matt Garman has served as CEO of AWS since June 2024 (per the annual report filed in February 2026). For an approach to verifying executives' careers and statements against primary sources, see how to verify an executive's career and statements.
How Management Direction Has Changed Under Jassy: What Public Materials Show
Drawing on Jassy's shareholder letters, messages to employees, and official company announcements, here are the main developments on the management side. None of these are announcements of policy changes directed at Japanese sellers.
| Published | Source | Main content |
|---|---|---|
| April 2022 | Shareholder letter for fiscal year 2021 | Explains that the fulfillment network was doubled over the preceding 24 months to meet pandemic-driven demand, generating extra costs from labor shortages and rising transportation expenses |
| April 2023 | Shareholder letter for fiscal year 2022 | Cut 27,000 corporate roles. Shifted the US delivery network to a model divided into eight regions |
| April 2024 | Shareholder letter for fiscal year 2023 | Lowered global cost to serve per unit for the first time since 2018 |
| September 2024 | Email to employees | As a rule, requires five days a week in the office starting January 2, 2025. Also announces a plan to reduce management layers |
| June 2025 | Message on generative AI | States that close to 500,000 selling partners use AI-powered seller services and other tools (no country-by-country breakdown given) |
| October 2025 | Announcement from the HR chief | Cuts roughly 14,000 corporate roles |
The overall pattern is heavy investment in logistics, followed by a review of costs and organizational structure, and now a focus on generative AI.
Company-Wide Revenue Is Separate from Your Own Results
According to annual reports, revenue from third-party seller services (a segment that includes selling fees and fulfillment fees, among others) grew from $80.461 billion in 2020 to $172.162 billion in 2025. However, this is company-wide revenue, affected by currency movements, and does not indicate any individual seller's sales or profit.
An Example of a Change That Reached Japan's Seller Screens: Generative AI Listing Support
In Japan too, Seller Central offers a tool that generates a product title, description, and similar content from a brief input (per official Japan news from October 2024). Since the generated content can be edited, be sure to check before publishing that it matches the actual product specifications and listing rules.
Comparing the Management Timeline with the Selling Policy Timeline
The main policy changes that apply to Japanese sellers are listed by year in Japan Seller Central Help under "Program Policy Changes" (プログラムポリシーの変更), with the effective date and content of each individual change.
| Year | Management event | Main policy changes in Japan (excerpted from "Program Policy Changes") |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Transition announced February 2; Jassy takes office July 5 | April 14: Clarified explanations such as those in "Confirming Your Account Health" (アカウント健全性の確認) / April 24: Revised the Fair Pricing Policy (適正な価格設定のポリシー) to add excessive shipping charges as an example / June 4: Introduced a new policy on investigating improper inventory (不適切な在庫の調査に関するポリシー) |
| 2022 | Herrington becomes head of the retail division in July | May 25: Changed how reimbursements are calculated, among other things, under the policy for damaged or lost items |
| 2023 | 27,000-role cut explained in shareholder letter | June 15: Replaced "Confirming Your Account Health" (アカウント健全性の確認) with the Account Health Rating Policy (アカウント健全性評価ポリシー) and the Order Performance Policy (注文のパフォーマンスポリシー) |
| 2024 | Garman becomes CEO of AWS in June | April 1: Ended the FBA Small and Light program (FBA小型軽量商品プログラム) and moved to a fee structure for low-price items / October 18: Changed the rules so sellers can file an appeal once 60 days have passed since funds were held |
| 2025 | Cut of roughly 14,000 roles announced in October | April 1: Began calculating FBA inventory reimbursements based on a product's "cost" (原価) / July 23: Revised how repeat violations are treated under the Account Health Rating |
| 2026 | Shareholder letter for fiscal year 2025 published in April | From July 27 onward: Changed the product title character limit from 200 to 75 characters and introduced Product Highlights (商品ハイライト) (with some exceptions, such as media product types) |
What's worth noting is that all three of the main 2021 policy changes for Japan took effect after the transition was announced but before Jassy actually took office (July 5 of that year). Being close in timing is not evidence of cause and effect. We could not confirm any official Amazon announcement stating that the CEO change made Japan's seller reviews or suspension standards stricter or looser. What actually matters for your operations are the individual changes listed in the "Main policy changes in Japan" column of the table above. The April 1, 2024 change to the FBA fee structure and the reimbursement calculation basis in effect from April 1, 2025 (based on a product's "cost") directly affect your profit calculations and reimbursement claims, so compare your own figures from before and after each effective date.
Three Checks Before Connecting Management News to Your Own Operations
To determine whether a piece of management news affects your own selling, work through the following three checks in order.
Check 1. Which Country Is This About?
The regionalization of the delivery network described in the shareholder letters is about the US delivery network, and the logistics cost figures are global or US figures (not figures for Japan alone). The lawsuit the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 17 states filed against Amazon in September 2023 is also a US case; the seller-related allegations in it (such as disadvantaging sellers in search results for selling more cheaply elsewhere) are claims made by the FTC, not a final court ruling. None of this directly concerns Japan's selling policies.
Check 2. Who Is the News Aimed At?
Return-to-office policies and headcount reductions are aimed at employees, and AWS news is aimed at companies that use its cloud services. Even for a seller-facing feature like Buy with Prime, which lets sellers offer Prime shipping on their own e-commerce sites, you need to separately confirm whether it's actually offered in Japan in the same form.
Check 3. Is There a Dated Announcement on Japan's Seller Central?
Whether something applies to Japanese sellers is decided by whether it can be confirmed on Japan's Seller Central. In addition to the current wording of the Business Solutions Agreement (ビジネスソリューション契約) and each policy in Help, check "Program Policy Changes" and announcements on Seller Central for the scope, content, and effective date, and confirm whether your own listings are covered. For the regionalization and Buy with Prime items mentioned above, we found no statement in "Program Policy Changes" saying they apply to Japanese sellers (this is not proof that they are unavailable in Japan).
Where Change Information Reaches You: How Notifications Work and Watching for Policy Updates
The selling agreement for Japan is the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement (Amazon サービスビジネスソリューション契約). The counterparty, as worded in the agreement, is Amazon Japan G.K. (アマゾン ジャパン合同会社), and it is governed by Japanese law. As of our research date, the main provisions of the agreement text were as follows (check the current text for the exact section numbers and number of days).
- Changes to the agreement are announced at least 15 days in advance (Section 15). However, changes may take effect immediately for reasons such as law or regulation, preventing fraud or abuse, or security
- Continuing to use the service on or after a change's effective date is treated as acceptance of the change (Section 15)
- Notice is given by posting on Seller Central or related sites, by email, and other means, and sellers must keep their registered information and email address current and accurate at all times (Section 18)
For example, the April 2021 revision to the pricing policy was announced as taking effect "15 days later, on April 24, 2021." Keeping yourself able to receive notices is the basic form of preparedness.
| Where to check | What you can learn |
|---|---|
| Help: "Program Policy Changes" | Policy changes by year, with effective dates |
| "Account Health News" (アカウント健全性ニュース) | Changes related to policy or Account Health (Amazon states it will communicate here wherever possible) |
| The "Account Health" page | Your own score and list of violations |
| "Performance Notifications" (パフォーマンス通知) and email | Individual notices such as warnings or suspensions |
| "Notification Preferences" (通知設定) | Whether items like your emergency contact phone number are registered and up to date |
A Policy-Watching Routine You Can Run In-House
- Check Seller Central announcements and notices sent to your registered email as they come in, and also review "Program Policy Changes" and any new items in Account Health News on a regular basis (for example, once a month)
- For each new item, record its effective date, scope, and impact on your business
- For changes relevant to your business, assign a person in charge and a deadline for responding
- Check that your registered email address and the emergency contact phone number under "Notification Preferences" (通知設定) are up to date (because for a Critical violation, you may receive a call during the grace period before suspension)
Here is a sample record entry (a hypothetical example, not an actual case).
Date checked: [Year]/[Month]/[Day] (Owner: Listing Management)
Change: Product title character limit change and introduction of Product Highlights (商品ハイライト) (effective July 27, 2026 onward)
Impact on us: Identify and review any listings with product titles over 75 characters
Response: Revise the affected product titles; check the detailed requirements in "Product Title Requirements and Guidelines"
For ways to build these checks into your day-to-day operations, see daily habits that help prevent another suspension.
Japanese Laws That Directly Affect Sellers
Over the same period, Japan's legal framework affecting sellers has also been evolving. What follows is only a general introduction; for an assessment of your own specific situation, check with a professional such as an attorney.
| Law | Effective | Main points relevant to sellers |
|---|---|---|
| Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (デジタルプラットフォーム取引透明化法) | February 1, 2021 | As a rule, changes to trading terms must be disclosed, with content and reasons, at least 15 days in advance. A full refusal to provide service, such as closing an account, must, as a rule, be disclosed with reasons at least 30 days in advance. A partial refusal, such as suspending a listing, must also be disclosed with content and reasons (exceptions apply in each case) |
| Act on Consumer Protection in Digital Platform Transactions (取引デジタルプラットフォーム消費者保護法) | May 1, 2022 | If a listing's description is significantly at odds with the facts and the seller cannot be identified, among other conditions, the government can request that the listing be suspended. Consumers can request disclosure of a seller's name, address, and similar information when needed to exercise a monetary claim exceeding 10,000 yen |
| Qualified Invoice System (インボイス制度) | October 1, 2023 | Japan's qualified invoice retention system for consumption tax began. Check with a tax accountant or similar professional on how to respond |
The Right to Petition Under the Transparency Act
The Transparency Act took effect on February 1, 2021. Amazon Japan G.K. submits an annual report as a designated specified digital platform provider. If a seller believes the provider has not taken necessary measures, the seller can petition the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the provider is prohibited from treating the seller unfavorably because of that petition.
The Government's Assessment of "Reasons" in Suspension Notices
According to an assessment the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published in December 2025, among business users who reported in a survey that they had experienced a listing suspension or removal on Amazon, 25% said the notice "stated a reason, but it wasn't specific." Among those who had experienced an account suspension or termination, the figure was 24%. METI states that it expects Amazon to, among other things, verify whether notices contain sufficiently specific reasons. Under the agreement as well, Amazon states that when it suspends or terminates an account, it will promptly notify the seller of the reason and the option to dispute it, by email, on Seller Central, or through similar means (exceptions apply, such as where this could interfere with an investigation or prevention efforts; Section 3). At the same time, Amazon explains that when fraud or similar conduct is suspected, it may withhold detailed explanations to prevent sellers from working around its enforcement.
Confirm Your Own Impact Through Metrics and Notifications
Regardless of who is in charge of management, you can check the status of your own account through the Account Health Rating (AHR, アカウント健全性の評価) on Seller Central and the notifications and requests you've received. Rather than going by rumor, get a handle on your situation using your own numbers and records. Here is a summary of how the mechanism works, as explained in official Help.
- The score ranges from 0 to 1,000: green ("Healthy") is 200–1,000, yellow ("At Risk") is 100–199, and red ("Unhealthy") is 99 or below. It reflects your policy compliance and selling activity over the past 180 days
- Each violation typically deducts 2 to 8 points depending on its severity. A "Critical" violation automatically drops the score to 0. Help explains that there is a three-day grace period before suspension, during which an Account Health specialist may call you (where fraud or similar conduct is suspected, suspension can occur without a grace period)
- Repeated violations of the same policy can result in the deduction doubling, and for higher-severity violations the limit on repeat violations may be as low as two (violation counts are assessed on a 180-day basis)
- 4 points are added for every 200 orders shipped successfully in the past 180 days
- Help explains that if an account was suspended because of AHR, it is reactivated once the score returns to 100 or above (if a suspension for a different reason overlaps, separate action is needed)
Even with a "Healthy" score, an account can still be suspended if fraud, deception, illegal activity, or other harmful conduct is suspected (including attempts to circumvent Amazon's systems), or if a policy outside the scope of AHR is violated, among other cases. For how to read your score, see how to check your Account Health score.
Items Worth Recording on Your Own
- Your score and color, week by week
- Newly appearing violations (date, affected product, policy name)
- The subject line of each notification received, the response requested, and any stated deadline
- Any items added to "Program Policy Changes" around the same time
Lining up your score trend against policy changes makes it easier to separate the effect of a rule change from an issue in your own operations.
If You Receive a Suspension or Removal Notice
For appealing an account suspension, official Help describes the following process (a response typically takes up to around two days as a rough guide, not a promise of an outcome or timeframe).
- Go to the "Account Health" page in Seller Central and click "Reactivate your selling account" (出品用アカウントの再開) near the top of the page
- Follow the instructions to enter the required information (you may be asked to answer a questionnaire or submit supporting documents), then click "Submit"
- Wait for the review result by email. If you're asked for additional information, submit it from "View Account Health Request" (アカウント健全性の要請を見る)
For a listing removal, check the details in the "Product Policy Compliance" (商品規約の遵守) tab, "Performance Notifications," and similar places. For how to respond depending on the type of email, see how to tell review emails apart; for the overall flow from suspension to appeal, see an overview of the path from account suspension to reinstatement.
Decide whether something affects you not from "management news," but from three things: announcements on Japan's Seller Central, notifications sent to your own account, and your Account Health numbers.
Interpretations and Actions to Avoid
- Treating an old article's outlook as today's rules: Predictions and explanations from around 2021 may not reflect policy changes made since then.
- Assuming a US policy applies the same way in Japan: Whether US-focused matters such as the delivery network, fees, or lawsuits apply in Japan is something you confirm on Japan's Seller Central.
- Bringing up management-strategy changes in an appeal: What's required is a response to the specific points raised in the notice. The basic approach is to explain concretely what happened in your business and what you did about it. For points that are easy to confuse during an appeal, see points that are easy to confuse when responding to a suspension.
- Opening a new account to get around a suspension or warning: Under the Code of Conduct, you may maintain only one account per region you sell in, unless you have a legitimate business reason and every account is operating without issues. Creating a new account to evade enforcement is itself a policy violation and can make your situation worse. For an overview of the conduct that gets flagged, see responding to a Code of Conduct warning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Have the standards for reviews or suspensions changed since the CEO transition?
A. Changes to standards are announced as individual policy changes, not as part of a leadership transition. For example, the Account Health Rating was replaced with its current policy on June 15, 2023, and how repeat violations are treated was revised on July 23, 2025. Check the impact on your own business through your score, your list of violations, and the notifications you've received.
Q. Does a new service or fee I saw in overseas news apply in Japan too?
A. It won't necessarily apply in the same form. Check the scope and effective date on Japan's Seller Central announcements, "Program Policy Changes," and the official selling services site.
Q. How far in advance are you notified of a change to the agreement?
A. Under the agreement, notice is given at least 15 days in advance as a rule (immediate changes for reasons such as law or security are an exception). Continuing to use the service on or after the effective date is treated as acceptance of the change, so once you see an announcement, plan to finish responding before the effective date.
Q. The suspension notice's reason isn't specific, and I don't know what to fix.
A. Write out the notice's affected product, the policy name, and the response being requested, and compare them against the violation details on the Account Health page. For anything you don't understand, contact Amazon through "Get Support" (サポートを受ける) in Help, or, for Professional sellers, through "Contact Us / Request a call now" (お問い合わせ/今すぐ電話がほしい) on the Account Health page. What to prepare before reaching out is covered in preparing before you contact Account Health Support.
Q. If I'm not satisfied with Amazon's response, can I consult a government body?
A. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) operates a Digital Platform Transaction Consultation Desk (デジタルプラットフォーム取引相談窓口). Proceed with any appeal to Amazon by following the instructions in the notice, and consult a professional such as an attorney when a legal judgment is needed.
Summary
The rules that apply to Japanese sellers have been announced as individual changes, separate from any change in leadership.
- The transition was announced on February 2, 2021, and Jassy became President and CEO on July 5. Bezos remains on the board as Executive Chair
- Most of the management changes under Jassy concern the company as a whole, the US, or employees
- The main 2021 policy changes for Japan took effect before Jassy took office, and being close in timing is not evidence of cause and effect
- When you read a piece of news, check which country it's about, who it's aimed at, and whether there's a confirmable announcement in Japan
Keep management news in mind as background, but base your day-to-day operations on official announcements and your own records. This article is based on official materials and laws as of September 2026. Since policies and on-screen wording can change, please check the latest official information when taking action.
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Further reading
Reviewing your Amazon Account Health Rating: warnings and improvement priorities Read article → 
Amazon Seller Agreement and Code of Conduct warnings: identifying conduct deemed a policy violation and corrective steps Read article → 
Contacting Amazon Account Health Support: preparation and questions for the call Read article →