Anti-monopoly law
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: |
私 的 独占 の 禁止 及 び 公正 取 引 の 確保 に 関 す る 法律 shiteki dokusen no kinshi oyobi kōsei torihiki no kakuho ni kan suru hōritsu English Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade |
| Short title: |
独占 禁止 法 ／ 独 禁 法 dokusen kinshi hō / dokkinhō "anti-monopoly law" |
| Type: | hōritsu |
| Number: |
昭和 22 年 4 月 14 日 法律 第 54 号 Law No. 54 of April 14th Shōwa 22 (1947) |
| Last change by: | Law No. 42 of June 27th Heisei 24 (2012) |
| Legal text on the Internet: | law.e-gov.go.jp |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version . Only the Japanese legal texts have legal effect, not translations into English or other languages. | |
The anti-monopoly law ( Japanese 独占 禁止 法 , dokusen kinshi hō , actually: 私 的 独占 の 禁止 及 び 公正 取 引 の 確保 に 関 す る 法律 , shiteki dokusen no kinshi oyobi kōsei torihiki "no kakuho ni kan suru hōrits law" Prohibition of private monopolies and the safeguarding of fair trade ”) is a Japanese law that regulates questions of antitrust law.
It is a legacy of the Allied occupation in Japan. It was issued in Japan under pressure from the Americans and came into force in 1947. The zaibatsu , the great Japanese industrial conglomerates, were considered a pillar of Japanese imperialism , and the law was intended to break up the big holdings.
At the beginning it was followed rigorously and strictly implemented, but this relaxed again in two steps, in 1949 and 1953. Following a public protest against domestic price cartels in connection with the first oil crisis , the law was tightened again in 1977. The last change so far took place in 1997 and again led to a far-reaching relaxation of the holding ban.
Central regulation through anti-monopoly law
- Prohibition of private monopolization and unfair trade restrictions; see: cartels
- Control of restrictive corporate relationships
- Prohibition of holding companies, limits on the shareholdings of banks and insurance companies in non-financial companies of 5% and 10% respectively; Shareholdings in large non-financial companies may not exceed the value of their equity or net assets
- Prohibition of unfair business practices such as price fixing or abuse of dominant market positions
Fair trade commission
The Fair Trade Commission ( 公正 取 引 委員会 , kōsei torihiki iinkai ) of the MITI was responsible for the application of the laws. Organizationally, it was assigned to the office of Prime Minister; but independent in decisions and only controlled by courts. Five members, appointed by the Prime Minister with the consent of both Houses of Parliament, with a five-year term of office; Extension only possible up to retirement age (70). There are currently 520 staff in offices across the country who support the work of the Commission.