Overview

• On Sept. 30, the Japan Fair Trade Commission carried out on-site inspections at Shuto Expressway and four highway maintenance firms on suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act.
• The companies named in the probe are Subaru Kogyo, Nippon Highway Service, its subsidiary Shuto Highway Service, and Keiyo Road Maintenance.
• According to reporting based on sources, staff at the firms coordinated in advance so predetermined companies would win the biennial cleaning tenders.
• The ordering entity Shuto Expressway is also under inspection on suspicion of involvement, with recent tenders divided into four zones and repeatedly awarded to the same limited set of firms since at least 2019.
• Shuto Expressway and Subaru Kogyo said they will cooperate with the investigation, some firms declined to comment, and authorities plan further interviews to determine scope, responsibility, and any impact on toll-funded costs.