Overview

In April 2023 Amazon released a new version of the Selling Partner API (SP‑API). The most noticeable change is to the Fulfillment Outbound API’s address schema: the city field is no longer mandatory. This tweak directly addresses a frequent validation problem for sellers shipping to Japan, where many addresses omit a city name. By making the city attribute optional, Amazon removes a common source of 400‑error responses and streamlines order creation for Japanese marketplaces.

Key Points

• City field optional — The city property in the address object is now optional, eliminating “Missing city” validation errors.
• Japanese marketplace focus — The change targets the JP marketplace, where city names are often omitted from shipping addresses.
• Error reduction — Sellers who previously faced “Missing city” errors will no longer receive them when shipping to Japan.
• Backward compatibility — Existing code that includes a city value continues to work without modification.
• Documentation update — The API reference now lists city as optional in the address schema, with updated examples.

How the Update Works

1. Address schema change — The address object now defines city as an optional string.
   Example: A seller can send { "addressLine1": "1‑2‑3 Shibuya", "stateOrRegion": "Tokyo" } without a city field.
2. Request validation — The API accepts the request and processes it normally, even if the city key is missing.
   Example: A fulfillment order to a Japanese address lacking a city will be accepted and queued for shipment.
3. Response handling — The API returns the same success or error messages as before, but without “Missing city” errors.
   Example: A seller receives a 200 OK response instead of a 400 error for the same payload.
4. Legacy code — Code that previously set city to an empty string or placeholder remains valid; no changes are required. : is still accepted and treated as “no city”.