Latest news with #antimonopoly
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
FTC orders sesame oil-makers to halt price cartel, issuing ¥21.98 million fine
The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday issued a cease and desist order to sesame oil manufacturer Kadoya Sesame Mills and Takemoto Oil & Fat for allegedly forming a price cartel. Industry leader Kadoya was also fined ¥21.98 million. No fine was imposed on Takemoto because it voluntarily reported its law breaches under a leniency program before the FTC's investigations began. According to the FTC, the two companies violated the antimonopoly law by repeatedly conspiring to raise the prices of sesame oil sold to food-makers S&B Foods and Marumiya. The two also raised the prices of sesame oil and roasted sesame sold to sauce-maker Fundokin Shoyu. Kadoya and Takemoto account for 100% of the sesame oil products the three client companies procure. Roasted sesame supplied to Fundokin Shoyu is supplied by the two companies almost entirely. The antitrust watchdog said that Kadoya and Takemoto formed the cartel in order to secure profits amid rising sesame prices due to production cuts caused by political unrest in Africa and a weaker yen. Their cartel is believed to have affected consumers who bought sesame-related products made by the three client companies. "It's not permissible at all to reflect increases in manufacturing costs in product prices through a cartel," even when the production costs are rising due to price hikes, FTC senior investigator Sen Kakibata told a news conference. Kadoya officials said the company has filed a lawsuit with Tokyo District Court to seek the cancellation of the FTC order, while Takemoto agreed to comply with laws and regulations and prevent a recurrence. The FTC also inspected Nisshin Oillio Group and Kuki Sangyo but did not find any violation of the antimonopoly law.
NHK
08-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
15 Tokyo hotel operators receive warning on price, internal information sharing
Japan's antimonopoly watchdog has warned 15 major hotel operators that their long-time practice of sharing room pricing and other internal information could be regarded as illegal price fixing under a cartel in violation of the Antimonopoly Law. The Fair Trade Commission issued the warning on Thursday to 15 operators of major hotels, including Hotel New Otani Tokyo, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, and The Okura Tokyo. The FTC says that for years, their sales representatives took turns hosting monthly meetings where they shared internal information, such as room occupancy rates, average room rates, and future plans for setting rates. The FTC says it has not confirmed any cases in which the 15 hotels raised their room rates simultaneously. However, the FTC has determined that some of the 15 hotels used the information gained from the other hotels as a basis for setting their own room rates. The FTC has issued a warning to the hotel operators, telling them that their practice of sharing information could lead to illegal cartels and unfair price-fixing. The 15 hotel operators say they stopped holding information sharing meetings in the fall of 2024. Tokyo has seen hotel rates surge in recent years, due in part to the increasing number of foreign visitors following the end of the pandemic. An FTC official said at a news conference on Thursday that the hotel industry must recognize the gravity of the problem, in which some of the best and leading hotels in Tokyo were involved in the act of information sharing that could be in violation of the Antimonopoly Law. The FTC says it is concerned that a similar practice of information sharing may also be taking place among hotels that operate outside Tokyo. The FTC instructed two national hotel industry groups to make doubly sure that their member hotels abide by the Antimonopoly Law. In response, the operators of Hotel New Otani Tokyo and Imperial Hotel Tokyo said they take the FTC's warning seriously, and will step up their efforts to comply with the law.
Japan Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
15 hotel operators in Tokyo warned over possible price-fixing
The Fair Trade Commission warned 15 luxury hotel operators in Tokyo on Thursday that their practice of exchanging information about room prices and other matters could amount to price-fixing conspiracy that violates the antimonopoly law. The FTC said that it issued the warning to have the hotel operators correct the practice as soon as possible rather than proceeding with its investigation as hotel fees in the capital have risen sharply due to a surge in the number of foreign visitors following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions. The 15 hotel operators include Imperial Hotel, New Otani, Keio Plaza Hotel, Hotel Okura Tokyo, Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide and Fujita Kanko. Officials from the 15 companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC. The information was shared in a common format so that the degree of fluctuations could be easily understood. The meeting started several years ago and continued until around fall last year. The FTC, alleging that such information exchanges may also be taking place among operators of business hotels, asked the Japan Hotel Association and the All Nippon Hotel Association to ensure that member companies comply with the antimonopoly law.
