News
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan announced on June 14 that it had decided to maintain the system for the time being under which international oceangoing shipping is exempted from the application of the Antimonopoly Act. The decision was made after holding discussions on and re-examining the system with the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), it added. As for freight conferences, the ministry said that it will conduct necessary reviews after validating their effectiveness. The JFIC in February unveiled a report on the Antimonopoly Act exemption granted to oceangoing shipping, in which it had concluded that it was not necessary to exempt conferences, discussion agreements, consortia and car carrier agreements from the application of the statute. The commission then began working on the subject together with the MLIT.
In reviewing freight conferences, the MLIT will take the following steps. (1) Taking into consideration that conferences only play a much smaller role today, and that they are decreasing in terms of number. Regarding new freight conferences to be registered in the future, it will conduct so much stricter screenings as to keep the total number from growing notably. (2) Exchanging views with shippers and shipping companies, the ministry will see if formalities are completed to file notices concerning conferences. If it does not see that such formalities are completed, it will undertake necessary measures, such as recommending that oceangoing shipping service providers affiliated with freight conferences withdraw from them immediately.
The MLIT added that it will terminate the Antimonopoly Act exemption for oceangoing shipping, if it finds out after taking the abovementioned steps that a decline in the number of freight conferences formed does not hinder international seaborne shipping services from being provided on a stable basis.
