Overview

• Japan Fair Trade Commission conducted on-site inspections on September 30 over suspected bid-rigging in Metropolitan Expressway road-cleaning contracts.
• Yokohama’s information review board upheld as appropriate two municipal decisions to partially disclose records, including one by Yokohama City University.
• JR Central announced first public experience runs of its new M10 maglev intermediate car on November 6–7 at the Yamanashi Test Center, offering 500 km/h rides with 360 seats allocated by lottery open until October 14.
• Ahead of the October points ban for intermediaries, furusato nozei donations spiked, with a Karatsu hamburger producer reporting 80,000 orders in a single day.
• Gujo City in Gifu dismissed a male employee in his 50s for embezzling ¥1.28 million in fire brigade grants; the funds were repaid in August and the city will not seek criminal charges.