According to a report from Nikkei on Monday, people involved with the project say that Amazon is planning to launch a service in Japan next year.
The plans would be a sign that the US-based online retail giant is looking to further expand its healthcare capabilities after it announced its planned acquisition of primary care company One Medical.
The Japan business of Amazon declined to speak to the newspaper.
According to the report, customers in Japan would use Amazon to get prescriptions delivered instead of going to a pharmacy. The report stated that Amazon wouldn't carry its own inventory or operate its own pharmacy. In Japan, the company would work with small- and medium-sized pharmacies to deliver drugs to customers' homes.
Amazon is involved in online pharmacy. The company acquired the startup and turned it into a business.
Challenges have been faced by Amazon in regards to its healthcare ambitions.
The company said in August that it was closing Amazon Care. According to Insider, a culture clash between tech and healthcare led to the unit's downfall.
The company is proud of the work it has done, and will continue to invent, learn from its customers and industry partners, and hold itself to the highest standards as it continues to help rethink the future of health care and the role Amazon can play, according to a company spokesman.
There is a growth opportunity for Amazon in Japan. In the past decade, the number of drugstores selling prescription drugs in Japan has increased.
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