Japan enacted Antimonopoly Law amendments on Wednesday designed to provide companies involved in anti-competitive practices with stronger incentives to cooperate in investigations under a leniency system.
The House of Councilors approved the amendments by a unanimous vote at a plenary session. The amendments passed the House of Representatives in May.
Under the existing system, which permits penalty exemptions and reductions for companies that step forward to confess to their roles in anti-competitive practices, penalty reduction rates are set uniformly in accordance with the order in which confessions come through.
By adopting flexible rates, the revised law is aimed at better encouraging violator companies to cooperate with the Fair Trade Commission and help facilitate its antitrust investigations. Ahead of the law’s enforcement, the JFTC plans to compile guidelines as to what types of cooperation will be considered for penalty exemptions and reductions.
Full Content: Japan Times
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