Japanese fair trade officials raid 6 ice cream makers on suspicion of price fixing

This is file photo of ice cream in a cup. Gleb Krasnoborov/Pexels

TOKYO — Japanese government fair trade watchdog officials have raided six major ice cream makers on suspicion of price fixing.

Tokyo-based Meiji Co. said in a statement Tuesday that it had been raided on suspicion of violating anti-monopoly laws.

“We accept with sincerity the fact that our company was raided, and we promise to cooperate fully with the Japan Fair Trade Commission investigation,” it said.

Five other companies, Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Morinaga & Co., Lotte Co., Ezaki Glico Co. and Akagi Nyugo Co., issued similar statements. It wasn’t clear when the raids took place.

In addition to ice cream, the companies make various food items, desserts and confectionery goods, including pudding, chocolate bars and chewing gum, sold widely at supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.

Japanese media called it “a price cartel.” Top managers at the companies were in touch with each other over several years to coordinate raising ice cream prices by 10 yen (6 U.S. cents), for instance, as well as the timing of such hikes, the reports said.

Japanese antitrust officials periodically make high-profile raids to protect fair competition, such as one on Google, instructing it to fix its advertising search restrictions allegedly affecting Yahoo in the country.

They were also involved in an investigation in 2022, carried out with prosecutors, of major advertising company Dentsu, as part of a widespread investigation into corruption related to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

In the latest case, the commission hasn’t commented. But policing ice cream makers for potential pricing violations appears to be part of its routine.

The commission’s website has an example of an ice cream maker refusing to distribute products to retailers unless they agreed to a certain suggested price, complete with colorful manga-like illustrations.

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Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press