JFTC continues to have concerns about problems with subcontracting and the abuse of dominant bargaining position, and in March 2018 there were reports that a raid had been carried out on Amazon on suspicion that the company had been abusing such a position. March 2018 also saw the conclusion of the trial in the EDION case, in which a fine of 4 billion yen was imposed. Any future rulings in court decisions are likely to have some impact on the direction of regulation. In cases involving the abuse of superior bargaining position, the facts under dispute include whether one party is in a superior bargaining position or not and whether a supplier has been forced to take action that is disadvantageous to itself. These are questions to which economic analysis can provide useful suggestions. Reviews conducted by the authorities rely on interviews and questionnaires, meaning that the validity of these reviews also needs to be verified from the perspective of an expert.

At this seminar, we used NERA’s experience to examine the issues related to the regulation of abuse of dominant bargaining position, methods of establishing proof in connection with specific issues, and tips related to compliance.