Hideo Nakajima is a Special Advisor in the Global Antitrust Practice. Mr Nakajima is based in Tokyo. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr Nakajima served for more than three years as Secretary General of the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) since January 2014. In that position, Mr Nakajima encouraged cooperation among competition authorities, contributed to the convergence of competition law enforcement and policy and consultation and compliance programs for corporations and trade associations. Mr Nakajima previously served as Director General of the Bureau of Economic Affairs, where he engaged in JFTC competition advocacy activities, was responsible for competition policy in the government, compliance program for businesses, and reviewing merger proposals. Prior to that, he worked as a Director General of the Investigation Bureau, where he was in charge of the enforcement of the Antimonopoly Act. Mr Nakajima joined the Ministry of Finance in 1978 after graduating from Tokyo University. There, he worked in various bureaus including the International Financial Bureau and the Financial Bureau. He was twice stationed in Manila, Philippines, from 1986 to 1989 and again from 2002 to 2005, serving as Special Advisor to the President and Director General of Budget, Personnel & Management. He is regularly consulted by Japanese media on competition issues.
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On January 13, 2023, Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") proposed a draft of "Guidelines Concerning the Activities of Enterprises, etc. Toward the Realization of a Green Society under the Antimonopoly Act" ("Draft Guidelines"). The due date for the public comments is 6pm on Monday, February (...)
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On April 8, 2022, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (’JFTC’) published the Market Survey Report on Credit Card Transactions (’Report’). The JFTC conducted a survey on credit card transactions in order to ascertain disclosure of standard interchange fee rates and to determine whether there are (...)
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On January 28, 2022, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") published a report "Understanding the reality of the public offering price setting process in the initial public offerings (IPOs)" ("Report"). The Report was prepared to examine whether there are any issues under competition policy (...)
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On December 23, 2021, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") proposed a draft of Guidelines for Business Collaboration with Startups and Investment in Startups ("Guidelines") for the purpose of promoting open innovation and ensuring fair (...)
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On March 29, 2021, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") issued Guidelines for Business Collaboration with Startups ("Guidelines") for the purpose of promoting open innovation and ensuring fair and free competitive environments. The (...)
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The Competition Policy Research Center ("CPRC") of the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") is seeking comments from the public on a list of proposed issues to be discussed at the Study Group on Competition Policy for Data Market ("Study Group"). The due date was originally set on January 15, (...)
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On December 23, 2020, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") proposed a draft of Guidelines for Business Collaboration with Startups ("Guidelines") for the purpose of promoting open innovation and ensuring fair and free competitive (...)
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On December 9, 2020, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”) brought criminal accusations with regard to bid-rigging involving pharmaceutical products ordered by the Japan Community Healthcare Organization (“JCHO”). Three pharmaceutical wholesalers and seven individuals were indicted. (...)
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On November 2, 2020, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") proposed amendments to relevant rules ("Drafts") in accordance with the Government of Japan’s "Regulatory Reform Implementation Plan" ("Government’s Plan") decided by the Cabinet on July 17, 2020. The JFTC seeks comments from the (...)
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On September 2, 2020, the JFTC published a market research report (“Report”) on transactions between the headquarters of convenience stores (i.e., franchisers) and their franchisees. Previously, the JFTC conducted a similar market research in 2011. The Report indicates some situations that (...)
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On June 29, 2020, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”) issued a draft of amendments to relevant cabinet orders and rules (“Drafts”) in accordance with the amendments to the Anti-Monopoly Act (“AMA”) previously passed in June 2019 (“2019 AMA Amendments” or “Amendments”). The JFTC is (...)
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The Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") amended the "Guidelines to Application of the Antimonopoly Act Concerning Review of Business Combination" ("Guidelines") and the "Policies Concerning Procedures of Review of Business Combination" ("Policies") on December 17, 2019. The Guidelines were (...)
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On October 25, 2019, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”) announced that it approved a commitment plan proposed by Rakuten, Inc. (“Rakuten”). As a result, the JFTC closed its investigation without finding violation or imposing penalties. This is the first case for which the JFTC applied (...)
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On August 29, 2019, the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") published a draft of new "Guidelines Concerning Abuse of a Superior Bargaining Position in Transactions between Digital Platform Operators and Consumers that Provide Personal Information, etc." ("New Guidelines") to seek comments (...)
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The bill to amend the Anti-Monopoly Act (the "AMA"), that includes the enhancement of a surcharge (i.e., administrative fine), has passed on June 19, 2019. It will be effective no later than from December 25, 2020. The surcharge (i.e., administrative fine) will likely be increased. The bill (...)
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The bill to amend the Anti-Monopoly Act (the "AMA"), that includes reform of leniency system, has passed on June 19, 2019. New leniency system will be effective no later than from December 25, 2020. After the bill becomes effective, the leniency system will be reformed, including that a (...)
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The Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") periodically conducts market research to review and investigate business activities that may violate abuse of superior bargaining position ("ASBP") regulations. For the first time in its history, the JFTC has focused its market research on manufacturer (...)
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On May 21, 2019, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI"), Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications ("MIC") jointly published reports that provide options for regulation of platform businesses. Following the lead of authorities in (...)
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The Cabinet of Japan submitted a bill (the "Bill") to amend the Anti-Monopoly Act (the "AMA") to the Diet on March 12, 2019. The Bill includes amendments to (i) the method for surcharge calculations, (ii) the leniency system and (iii) criminal penalties for obstruction of investigations by the (...)
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The Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") published the Report on the Actual Status of Consumer e-Commerce Transactions (the "Report") on January 29, 2019. The rapid expansion of consumer e-commerce in Japan in recent years has promoted competition in the retail market, but at the same time, it (...)
