Walmart partners with Rakuten to open its first e-commerce store in Japan

Walmart is continuing its strategy of revamping its businesses in Asia after the U.S. retail giant opened its first e-commerce store in Japan, where it is working with local retail giant Rakuten. The companies first announced a collaboration in January when they agreed to team up on the launch of an online grocery service in Japan and the sale of e-readers, audio books and e-books from Rakuten-owned Kobo in the U.S. That e-grocery service -- Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper -- rolled out in October, and now the duo has launched the Walmart Rakuten Ichiba Store to help Walmart grab a slice of Japan's e-commerce market, which is estimated to be worth 16.5 trillion yen ($148 billion) per year.