Japan Fair Trade Commission News

The Biden administration recently issued a sweeping Executive Order [1] aimed at protecting and enhancing competition, and the transportation sector—including air, ocean, and rail—is among the industries specifically identified and likely to see heightened antitrust scrutiny under the new directives. This executive action was soon followed by the long-awaited announcement of Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division), Jonathan Kanter, who…

As reported earlier, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) concluded an agreement in March with Mitsui E&S Holdings Co., Ltd. under which MHI will take over the Naval and Governmental Ships business of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The decision has now been taken to name the new business entity Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Maritime Systems Co., Ltd., with the new company’s operational launch date to be announced after receipt of the results of the review currently underway by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC).With inauguration of the new business company, MHI and MHI Maritime Systems will integrate in a concerted drive to expand their product lineups in naval vessels and governmental ships, enhance their product development capabilities, and improve production efficiency.

EU antitrust regulators are set to fine Nippon Yusen KK (NYK) and several other Japanese shippers as well as Norwegian Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics ASA (WWL) in the coming weeks for rigging bids for shipping cars, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The EU sanctions follow a near six-year investigation which started with dawn raids by the European Commission in September 2012 in coordination with Japanese and U.S. antitrust authorities. Competition regulators around…

Japan's Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has ordered the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers to provide details on contract requirements that prevent them from reselling the fuel to third parties, according to a source with direct knowledge of the inquiry. The move suggests the powerful anti-monopoly regulator has launched a formal investigation into whether the so-called destination clauses limit competition and could lead to hundreds of billions of dollars LNG contracts being renegotiated. Japan, the world's biggest LNG buyer, and other Asian buyers have complained that the long-established practice of adding the clauses to LNG contracts places unfair restrictions on trading the fuel when it would make more economic sense to sell to other markets.

Japan's anti-monopoly regulator is investigating whether clauses in liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts preventing buyers from selling the fuel to third parties hurts competition, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources. The investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is in the early stages and may be completed by the end of year, the report said. A spokesman for the JFTC would not comment on the issue when contacted by Reuters, including whether any probe is under way.

China is going after container shipping lines for freight rate abuses. The Chinese Ministry of Transport has fined a total of $65 million on price-fixing charges. The National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement that the imposed fines are equivalent to 4% to 9% of their international shipping sales “concerning transport to and from China". The investigation lasted for more than a year, the NDRC said. Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, Mitsui OSK lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Eastern Car Liner, Korea's Eukor Car Carriers, Norway's Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Chile's Cia Sud Americana de Vapores and its shipping line were the eight indicted after a year-long investigation.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) inform that the Japan Fair Trade Commission (the JFTC) has issued Cease and Desist Orders and Surcharge Payment Orders to certain shipping companies regarding certain car carrier shipping trades, but exercised leniency as MOL had already desisted from the questioned business conduct. The JFTC suspected certain shipping companies, including Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), of violating the Japanese Antimonopoly Act, and conducted on-site investigations on September 6, 2012.

MOL Group president Koichi Muto issued a New Year message that reflects on 2013 while rallying for company-wide growth in 2014 as MOL prepares for 130th anniversary. “Looking back at 2013, Japan’s economy finally started to offer a glimpse of hope for pulling out of the deflation from which it has suffered for many years,” Muto said. “This can be attributed to the economic policies of Prime Minister Abe’s government, or the so-called “three arrows” of Abenomics. Last year, MOL…