At a Glance
- Legal name
- Mercari, Inc.
- Jurisdiction
- Japan
- Ownership
- public
- Listed on
- JPX-Prime (4385.T)
- Employees
- 1000+
- Revenue (est.)
- $1B+
- Headquarters
- Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 18F, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6118
Mercari is Japan's flagship consumer-to-consumer marketplace, where individual sellers list secondhand and new goods to buyers nationwide.
Mercari is Japan's flagship consumer-to-consumer marketplace, where individual sellers list secondhand and new goods to buyers nationwide. Founded in 2013 by Shintaro Yamada, the company built a mobile-first listing flow with one-tap shipping integrations through Yamato Transport and Japan Post that became the template for Japanese resale commerce.
Mercari listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market in June 2018 in what was then the largest Japanese tech IPO of the decade, raising roughly 130 billion yen at a market capitalisation above 7 billion US dollars. It later migrated to the JPX Prime tier following the 2022 market restructure and trades under ticker 4385.T.
The group operates Mercari in Japan, a smaller US Mercari operation, and Mercari Hallo (a part-time work matching platform), as well as Mercoin, a crypto-asset trading service launched in 2023. Beyond the core resale app, Merpay provides QR-code payments and credit services in Japan, integrating tightly with the marketplace wallet. Mercari is studied as an example of a Japanese internet company that successfully built a domestic monopoly first, then attempted overseas expansion second, in contrast with the SoftBank-era playbook of going global from day one.
- 1
Capital markets path
Mercari is the most-cited modern Japanese tech IPO and offers a clean lens into how Japanese corporate structure has evolved away from old conglomerate norms.
- 2
Estonia e-Residency play
**A KK that broke the keiretsu mold.** Mercari is a Kabushiki Kaisha, but it is not part of any horizontal or vertical keiretsu, has no main bank in the traditional sense, and no founding zaibatsu lineage. Its cap table is dominated by venture investors (Globis, World Innovation Lab, Glowing Capital) and by founder Shintaro Yamada's personal stake. This is the modern Tokyo tech pattern: a KK with venture-style governance rather than the bank-led, cross-shareholding structures that characterise older Japanese listed companies.
- 3
Restructuring move
**The 2022 JPX restructure and the Mothers-to-Prime path.** Mercari listed on Mothers in 2018, the high-growth segment of the old TSE structure. When the JPX consolidated its tiers into Prime, Standard, and Growth in April 2022, the old Mothers segment became Growth. Mercari, having grown well beyond Growth-tier thresholds, migrated up to Prime. Prime requires a tradable market cap of at least 10 billion yen, at least 800 shareholders, a 35 percent free float, and full English disclosure, all of which Mercari clears comfortably.
- 4
German entity type
**Governance: the company-with-audit-committee model.** Like most large Tokyo tech listcos, Mercari adopts the company-with-audit-committee structure introduced in 2015. This replaces the traditional kansayaku (statutory auditor) with an audit committee composed of independent directors, aligning Japanese governance closer to US and UK norms and making cross-border investor relations smoother.
Key People
Shintaro Yamada
Founder
From Wikidata
Corporate Timeline
- Feb 2013Incorporation
Mercari founded
Founded in 2013 by Shintaro Yamada.
Replicate Mercari's structure in 4 steps
The formation playbook, distilled from how this company was actually set up.
German entity type
Incorporate a Kabushiki Kaisha at the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau. Notarise the articles of incorporation (teikan) and deposit paid-in capital, working minimum 1 million yen, recommended 5-10 million yen for venture credibility.
Adopt the company-with-audit-committee governance model
Adopt the company-with-audit-committee governance model from incorporation, which avoids appointing kansayaku and aligns with what JPX-Prime expects later.
Estonia e-Residency play
Register a Japanese-resident representative director. A foreign founder may serve in this role with a Business Manager visa.
Tax strategy
Issue founders' shares as common stock. Reserve a stock-option pool under the Japanese qualified stock-option (zeisei tekikaku) regime, which gives employees deferred-tax treatment until sale.
Market Snapshot
Live data via Yahoo Finance. Refreshed nightly. Not investment advice.
Recent News & Filings
- International Women’s Day 2026: Exploring Mercari’s Leadership Through the Theme “Give to Gain” - MercariMercari · 14 Apr 2026
- Mercari Revives Seller Tiers With Limited-Time Fee Discounts for High-Volume Sellers - Value Added ResourceValue Added Resource · 19 Mar 2026
- Did Mercari Violate Your Privacy Rights? - ClassAction.orgClassAction.org · 10 Mar 2026
- Mercari’s U.S. GMV Is Improving, Even as User Growth Lags - Value Added ResourceValue Added Resource · 9 Feb 2026
- Creating a Marketplace That Attracts First-Timers—The Future Mercari Experience Envisioned by Our Core CX Team - MercariMercari · 6 Feb 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Mercari structured as a KK rather than a GK?
KK is the standard form for Japanese venture-backed companies that intend to list on the JPX. GKs (Godo Kaisha) cannot list, do not have the same flexibility on share classes, and are usually used as wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign parents rather than as standalone listing vehicles.
What does it take to list on JPX Prime, where Mercari now trades?
Prime is the JPX's top tier. Key thresholds include a tradable market cap of at least 10 billion yen, at least 800 shareholders, a 35 percent free float, English-language disclosure of all material information, and adoption of the company-with-audit-committee or three-committees governance model. Mercari listed on Growth (the old Mothers) first and migrated up.
Can foreigners hold shares in a Japanese listed KK like Mercari?
Yes, freely on the open market through any JPX-connected broker. There is no general foreign-shareholder cap. Sector-specific limits exist for regulated industries such as broadcasting and certain infrastructure, and large stake acquisitions in defense-related sectors require pre-notification under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, but consumer internet companies like Mercari are unrestricted.
How did Japan reform the minimum-capital rule that used to require 10 million yen for a KK?
The 2006 Companies Act consolidated the old Commercial Code regime and abolished the 10-million-yen minimum for KKs and the 3-million-yen minimum for GKs. Today a KK can technically be incorporated with 1 yen of paid-in capital. In practice 1 million yen is the working floor and 5 million yen is required for a foreign founder seeking a Business Manager visa.
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