The Japan Fair Trade Commission
' ( is the
competition regulator in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. It is a commission of the
Japanese government responsible for regulating
economic competition, as well as enforcement of the
Antimonopoly Act. Headed by a chairman, the commission is commonly known as or .
Notable activities
On July 13, 2004, the commission asked
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
to remove a clause which it thinks is hurting activities of Japanese companies getting licenses of
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
from Microsoft. Microsoft had previously faced another action from the JFTC when Japanese manufacturers were forced to include
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor program, word processing program developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platf ...
on new systems instead of homegrown word processor software
Ichitaro.
In March 2024, the JFTC accused
Nissan
is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
of violating the Subcontractor Act by underpaying dozens of suppliers by some 3 billion yen ($20.26 million).
In November 2024, the commission reportedly raided
Amazon Japan's corporate offices as part of an investigation into potential violations of the Antimonopoly Act.
Members of the Commission
Current members of the JFTC
See also
*
Competition law
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...
*
Competition policy
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...
*
Consumer protection
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
References
External links
*
*
Cabinet Office (Japan)
Government agencies established in 1947
1947 establishments in Japan
Competition regulators
Government agencies of Japan
Regulation in Japan
{{Japan-gov-stub