July 31, 2024
Japan Fair Trade Commission
(The 53rd Open Seminar)
Today, I would like to talk about the 53rd Open Seminar that will be held by the Competition Policy Research Center (CPRC) on September 20.
The theme of this seminar is “The Antimonopoly Act and Corporate Compliance.” In order to promote fair and free competition, it is important not only to eliminate violations of the Antimonopoly Act (the Act) through strict enforcement, but also to achieve an environment where competitive business activities are conducted autonomously by promoting compliance with the Act among individual enterprises.
The JFTC published the “Guide for the Design and Implementation of an Effective Antimonopoly Act Compliance Program: Focusing on Responses to Cartels and Bid-rigging”(the Guide) in December 2023, and is working to support and advocate enterprises’ efforts to comply with the Act through publicizing the Guide and other activities.
We hold this seminar to further deepen the understanding of the Guide and to encourage enterprises to actively engage in compliance with the Act.
In this seminar, in addition to explanations provided by JFTC staff, the CPRC plans to have presentations from practitioners with expertise in corporate compliance and representatives from enterprises actively engaged in compliance efforts. A panel discussion will also be held.
This seminar is co-hosted by Nikkei Inc. and the Fair Trade Institute, and supported by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).
The seminar will be held on Friday, September 20, from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM in Tokyo. Online participations will also be available. Registrations will open in early August on the CPRC’s website. We encourage you to participate.
(Seeking Information from Application Developers and Others Concerning the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software)
Next, I would like to talk about seeking information from application developers and others concerning the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software (the Act).
The Act was approved and passed at the plenary session of the House of Councillors on June 12 and promulgated on June 19 this year. On December 19, the provisions relating to the designation of providers subject to the Act will come into effect first, and by December next year, the Act will be fully enforced, including the obligations of the designated providers.
The JFTC is currently preparing for the implementation of the Act by formulating cabinet orders, regulations, and guidelines, as well as establishing the necessary framework for law enforcement.
In order to ensure effective preparations such as the formulation of guidelines, and efficient operations after the law enforcement, it is important to gather a wide range of information and knowledge, and to take actions based on the actual situations, as the supplementary resolution of the Act requires the use of knowledge from private enterprises and other parties. This includes engaging in close dialogue not only with the designated providers subject to regulation but also with related businesses including application developers.
As part of these efforts, starting today, we have set up an information-gathering portal on the special website “The JFTC Initiatives in the Digital Field,” which is available on the JFTC’s website. The JFTC is seeking information from application developers and other related enterprises. Additionally, early next month, the JFTC plans to establish an online form where information can be submitted directly via the web.
The purpose of this information-gathering portal is to collect details from application developers and other related enterprises about the actual state of transactions with providers of specific software that may be problematic under the Act. We also aim to understand their plans for new services inspired by the Act and to collect their opinions on the JFTC’s operation of the Act.
The information-gathering period is from today, July 31, to September 8. We encourage application developers and other related enterprises to provide a wide range of information.
We are committed to the effective implementation of the Act, including the preparation of formulating guidelines, based sufficiently on the information and insights provided, while holding hearings with related enterprises, consumer groups, experts and others, and collaborating with relevant ministries and overseas authorities.
（Tentative translation）
