Japan FTC Issues Orders over Expressway Cleaning Bid-Rigging

Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday issued cease and desist orders to four road maintenance companies over bid-rigging on contracts for road-cleaning services commissioned by Metropolitan Expressway Co.

The antimonopoly watchdog ordered two of the four companies, including Subaru Enterprise Co., to pay fines totaling 528.25 million yen. The remaining two were exempted from penalties under a leniency program as they had jointly reported the antimonopoly law violation on a voluntary basis.

According to the FTC, the four had predetermined the winners in general competitive bidding for work such as road-cleaning and anti-icing operations on the Metropolitan Expressway since May 2017 at the latest. They coordinated so that each company would win contracts for the same quarter section of the expressway network covering the greater Tokyo area in bidding held every two years.

The commission also issued Wednesday an improvement order to Metropolitan Expressway under the law to prevent government-led bid-rigging, finding that a company official leaked confidential information on contract target prices to the companies.

END

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]