Overview

• The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) issued formal warnings to 15 luxury hotel operators in Tokyo on May 8, 2025, citing potential violations of antimonopoly laws.
• The hotels, including Imperial Hotel, New Otani, and Hotel Okura Tokyo, held monthly meetings to exchange standardized data on room prices, occupancy, and bookings.
• The JFTC emphasized that these practices could constitute an unreasonable restraint of trade, urging operators to cease such activities immediately.
• Regulators also instructed the Japan Hotel Association and All Nippon Hotel Association to ensure compliance across the broader hotel sector, including business hotels.
• The warnings come as Japan experiences a surge in foreign tourism post-COVID-19, with non-luxury hotel room rates nearly doubling since 2021 due to inflation and labor shortages.