JR Tokai, 5 Other Firms Ordered to Stop Bid-Rigging

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Fair Trade Commission on Friday recognized bid-rigging by Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, and five other firms regarding inspection work for bridges installed over railroad tracks in violation of the antimonopoly law, ordering them to end the malpractice and prevent any recurrence. The five companies, all construction consultancies, were fined 100 million yen in total. It was the first time for the Japanese antimonopoly watchdog to issue an administrative order to any of the Japan Railways (JR) Group companies or the now-defunct Japanese National Railways, which was privatized to create the JR Group in 1987, for breaching the law. The five consulting companies subject the FTC orders include JR Central Consultants Co., which is a unit of JR Tokai, Dainichi Consultant Inc., Tonichi Engineering Consultants Inc. and Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. According to the FTC, JR Tokai, whose main service area is the Tokai central Japan region, and the five consultancies started in February 2021 or earlier to prearrange winners in bidding for contracts placed by local governments in the region for inspections of bridges over railroads managed by JR Tokai. JR Tokai, based in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, part of the Tokai region, provided the five companies with lists of items related to inspection work before bidding. The railroad operator also heard from them requests regarding which contracts they would like to win and shared the information among them. The FTC determined that JR Tokai was involved in the preselection of successful bidders and played an indispensable role in the bid-rigging although it did not take part in the bidding. Bid-rigging was conducted for a total of 111 tenders, with the average contract value standing at about 12 million yen, the FTC said. Structures including bridges must undergo inspections every five years in the wake of the fatal partial collapse of the ceiling of the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, in December 2012. “Taking legal action against bid-rigging for inspection work on bridges over railroad tracks, for which taxpayer money is used, helps secure the interest of the public,” FTC official Naohiko Komuro told a press conference in Nagoya, emphasizing that the commission will continue to act strictly against bid-rigging on public infrastructure-related projects. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]