Kazuyuki Furuya, chairman of Japan's Fair Trade Commission
(FTC), also said Tokyo could open a probe into any merger or
business tie-up involving fitness tracker maker Fitbit <FIT.N>
if the size of such deals are big enough.
"If the size of any merger or business-tie up is big, we can
launch an anti-monopoly investigation into the buyer's process
of acquiring a start-up (like Fitbit)," he told Reuters. "We're
closely watching developments including in Europe."
EU antitrust regulators in August launched an investigation into
a $2.1 billion deal by Alphabet <GOOGL.O> unit Google's bid to
buy Fitbit that aimed to take on Apple <AAPL.O> and Samsung
<005930.KS> in the wearable technology market.
Japan is laying the groundwork to regulate platform operators.
Among them are big tech giants dubbed "GAFA" - Google, Apple,
Amazon <AMZN.O> and Facebook <FB.O> - that face various
antitrust probes in western nations.
Multi-national companies like GAFA have similar business
practices across the globe, which makes global coordination
crucial, Furuya said.
"We'll work closely with our U.S. and European counterparts, and
respond if to any moves that hamper competition," he said.
"This is an area I will push through aggressively," he said,
adding the FTC was ready to open probes if digital platformers
abuse their dominant market positions against consumers.
Furuya, who assumed the post in September, also said the FTC
would conduct research into Japan's mobile phone market to see
whether there is any room for improvement to spur competition.
Any such move would help Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's push to
slash Japan's mobile phone charges, which he has repeatedly
criticised as too high.
Furuya countered the view that helping the government meet its
policy priorities could undermine the FTC's position as a body
mandated to act independently from political meddling.
"If there's a policy priority for the government, there's no
doubt the FTC should think about what it can do on that front,"
Furuya said.
"By participating in the government's debate on policy issues,
we have been reflecting our thinking in the process. This is
something our organisation should do."
(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada; Editing by
Chang-Ran Kim and Gerry Doyle)
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