Japan Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kazuyuki Sugimoto held a pre-retirement conference on Friday and recalled his tenure during which he particularly focused on monitoring the activities of tech giants.
"Finding a way to lead the Japanese economy amid the massive wave of digitization has been an important task for me," he said at the press conference, looking back on his years at the post.
During his 7-1/2 years as chairman, Sugimoto, 69, actively administered the Antimonopoly Law in a way to keep pace with changes in economic activities, including the digitization of society.
In particular, Sugimoto dealt with such U.S. tech giants as Google and Facebook. He focused on how to monitor the activities of tech megafirms that now play such a significant role in people's lives, dominating search engine and social media functions.
The FTC pointed out in a survey it conducted last autumn on tech giants and their business suppliers that unilateral increases in commissions could be a violation of the law.
The commission also investigated Amazon Japan G.K., which had been forcing its suppliers to bear the burdens of discounting, and took steps to rectify the situation.
"It will become increasingly important to create and improve an environment that ensures fairness and freedom in the digital sector," Sugimoto said.
He was also concerned over a possible oligopoly in a region facing a declining population. In the merger talks between Fukuoka Financial Group in Fukuoka City, which owns several affiliates in Nagasaki Prefecture, and The Eighteenth Bank in Nagasaki City, the FTC took the unusual step of requiring them to transfer some of their loans to other banks as a condition for obtaining FTC approval on their merger.
In response to criticism of the prolonged screening process, Sugimoto stuck to his guns and said: "Users come first under the Antimonopoly Law. If business integration creates an environment where companies no longer make an effort [due to an oligopoly], that kind of integration only harms the interests of users."
He also took a scalpel to the unfair relationships between major agencies and freelancers such as entertainers and athletes.
His tenure, which began in March 2013, roughly coincides with that of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"Innovation is the driving force of the Japanese economy. What we need is a fair and competitive environment," Sugimoto said, describing the role of the FTC under the Abenomics economic policy package.
He has, however, left some issues to be tackled. Japan's industrial structure continues to take a toll on small and midsize companies. The FTC is required to not only deal with new sectors but also solve existing problems in a steady manner.
Kazuyuki Furuya, 65, a former assistant chief cabinet secretary who supported the Abe administration and, like Sugimoto, formerly worked at the Finance Ministry, will succeed him.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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