October 1, 2025
Japan Fair Trade Commission
Today, I would like to talk about the following matters: (1) Development of Rules for Clarification under Article 4 of the Fair Transactions Act and (2) The 24th CPRC International Symposium.
Development of Rules for Clarification under Article 4 of the Fair Transactions Act
The finalized rules and related guideline under the amendment of the Subcontract Act, as well as the results of the public comment process, are as follows. The amended Subcontract Act was promulgated on May 23 of this year. After deliberations in the Diet, it is scheduled to come into force on January 1 next year, in time for the spring labor-management negotiations.
Going forward, the official name of the Act will be the “Act Against Delay in Payment of Fees, etc. to Small and Medium-sized Entrusted Business Operators in Manufacturing and Other Specified Fields,” abbreviated as the “Fair Transactions Act.” With the enforcement date approaching, it is becoming increasingly important for enterprises to fully understand the provisions of this Act.
As for Fair Trade Commission Rules and Guidelines that set out the specific interpretation of the Fair Transactions Act, the JFTC released draft texts on July 16, 2025 and invited public comments through August 15, 2025. After carefully reviewing the 124 comments submitted, the JFTC today (October 1, 2025) published the final versions of these documents and the results of the public comment process.
As a result, out of the six documents subject to the recent public comment process—namely, three Fair Trade Commission Rules under the Fair Transactions Act, one set of Guidelines under the same Act, and, in connection with their review, one Rule of the Fair Trade Commission under the Freelance Act and one interpretive Guideline under the Freelance Act—the JFTC made technical revisions to two Rules and one set of Guidelines under the Fair Transactions Act, while the remaining documents have been finalized as originally proposed.
In the public comment process, we received many questions and opinions regarding the newly introduced employee criteria and specified transport consignment under the amendment. The JFTC has provided individual explanations in response to these comments and will also reflect them in future revisions of the explanatory texts on the Subcontract Act.
The JFTC will continue preparations for the enforcement of the Fair Transactions Act. In cooperation with the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency and other relevant organizations, the JFTC plans to actively carry out public awareness activities, including briefings in all 47 prefectures, dialogues with industry associations, and wide-reaching dissemination of public awareness campaigns through train advertisements, television commercials, and other channels. We would greatly appreciate the continued support and cooperation of the media in these efforts.
The 24th CPRC International Symposium
Next, I would like to introduce the 24th CPRC International Symposium, which will be held by the Competition Policy Research Center of the Japan Fair Trade Commission on Friday, October 31, in Tokyo.
The theme of this symposium is “Fighting Cartels and Bid-Rigging in a New Era — Latest Research from Japan and Abroad and Implications for Practice.” Cartels and bid-rigging have long been recognized as violations of the Antimonopoly Act, requiring strict enforcement. At the same time, with the progress of digitalization, new forms of collusion have emerged. For example, competitors may tacitly coordinate their conduct through the use of AI or algorithms, without ever meeting in person. In response, detection methods are also evolving, such as research on screening bid data to uncover signs of bid-rigging.
At this symposium, we will welcome leading researchers from Japan and abroad on the detection of cartels and bid-rigging. They will give presentations and take part in a panel discussion on the latest research in this field, and will discuss how to address cartels and bid-rigging in this new era.
This symposium is co-organized by the Competition Policy Research Center, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Fair Trade Institute, with the support of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren). Registration is open as of today on the CPRC website. Details on the venue, speakers, and presentation topics are also available online. While online participation is possible, we encourage you to take this opportunity to attend in person. We look forward to welcoming many participants.
(Tentative translation)
