July 26, 2023
Japan Fair Trade Commission
Today, I would like to talk about the holding of the 18th East Asia Top Level Officials’ Meeting on Competition Policy and the 15th East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy.
The 18th East Asia Top Level Officials’ Meeting on Competition Policy was held in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday, July 25. Chair Furuya, Commissioner Aoki and several officials from the JFTC attended the meeting.
Also, the 15th East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy is being held Today, Wednesday, July 26, in a hybrid format, both in person and online. Chair Furuya, Commissioner Aoki and several officials from the JFTC also attended the conference.
This year, these conferences are held in person as these were last year, and are hosted by the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand. The East Asia Top Level Officials’ Meeting on Competition Policy was attended by the officials including top-leaders of 16 competition authorities from East Asia and other regions. In addition to those participants, scholars are participating in the East Asia Conference on Competition Law and Policy.
At the East Asia Top Level Officials’ Meeting on Competition Policy, Commissioner Aoki gave a speech on "The role of competition policy in promoting environmental sustainability", following the opening remarks by Chair Furuya. In her speech, she explained the initiatives of the JFTC, focusing on the contents described in the "Guidelines Concerning the Activities of Enterprises, etc. Toward the Realization of a Green Society Under the Antimonopoly Act" published in March this year. Besides, a staffer of the JFTC introduced initiatives in Japan on the theme of "Challenges of Competition Policy and Regulatory Methods in the Digital Economy." Following active discussions on all themes, we realized again that it is important for each competition authority to work on new issues which should be addressed by competition authorities while closely coordinating with each other by sharing knowledge and expertise.
We regard these conferences as a very good opportunity to build cooperation among competition authorities in East Asia and other regions, and to promote understanding of competition policies in those regions. We will continue to contribute actively.
（Tentative translation）
