A Study on the 2013 Amendment to the Antimonopoly Act of Japan Procedural Fairness Under the Japanese Antimonopoly Act

Abstract

The 2013 Amendment to the Japanese Antimonopoly Act, promulgated on 13 December 2013, abolished the current Hearing Procedure System for administrative appeals administered by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. However the New Amendment raises a number of problems concerning procedural issues, including independence of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, limitations of judicial review, and exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court. This paper reviews related discussions regarding these issues and points out additional possible grounds for the criticism of the 2013 Amendment. In addition, following the abolition of the Hearing Procedure System, the 2013 Amendment sets out new provisions on hearing procedures under the Antimonopoly Act. This paper thus makes a detailed comparison between the newly enacted provisions on hearing procedures under the Antimonopoly Act and the relevant provisions under the Administrative Procedure Act, which is Japan’s main law on administrative procedures. By comparing these provisions, the author examines to what extent procedural fairness is accomplished under the Antimonopoly Act.