Overview
- The Japan Fair Trade Commission, which notified draft dispositions on Thursday, has proposed exclusion orders for 38 companies and about ¥1.6 billion in surcharges on contractors pending final hearings.
- Investigators say the case turned on internal emails that show repeated pre‑bid coordination between two design‑consultant firms and roughly 36 construction firms.
- The JFTC found the scheme ran at least from autumn 2021 across more than 100 large‑scale condominium repairs in the Kanto area, with reporting that consultants received roughly 5% back‑margins from winning contractors.
- Those inflated repair prices were paid from residents’ repair reserve funds held by condominium management associations, exposing how reliance on consultant advice can leave residents vulnerable to higher costs.
- The commission is now taking written and oral opinions before final decisions, and some firms that self‑reported under its leniency program are expected to face reduced or waived surcharges while investigators probe whether similar conduct occurred beyond Kanto.