On December 27, 2022, the Japan Fair Trade Commission published the names of companies that had kept their purchase prices unchanged without discussing them explicitly with suppliers during price negotiations. It published them under Article 43 of the Antimonopoly Act, in an investigation of possible abuse of a superior bargaining position. About 4,030 other companies received warning letters but were not named.
The commission stated that publishing the names did not mean that the companies had broken the law.