JFTC raids 7 auto parts makers over alleged price-fixing cartel+

     TOKYO, July 20 Kyodo -
     The Japan Fair Trade Commission raided seven Japanese auto parts makers on Wednesday, including Denso Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp., over their alleged involvement in a price-fixing cartel.
     The trade watchdog suspects that the parts manufacturers had meetings from 2002 or earlier to set parts prices and decided which companies would win contracts before bidding for orders from automakers, sources close to the matter said.
     Other companies investigated by the commission are Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd., Calsonic Kansei Corp., Mitsuba Corp., T.RAD Co. and Denso subsidiary Asmo Co.
     The parts makers allegedly formed a cartel to fix prices of windshield wipers, radiators, engine starters and alternators supplied to automakers, the sources said. These four products generate about 100 billion yen in annual sales in Japan.
     Some participants in the cartel are believed to have voluntarily reported it to the JFTC in a bid to take advantage of a system for reducing fines for such voluntary reporters, the sources said.
     Denso and Mitsubishi Electric officials confirmed the JFTC raid and offered their full cooperation in its investigations.
     Over price-fixing cartel practices for auto parts, the Japanese watchdog and U.S. law enforcement authorities launched investigations in their respective countries in February last year, and three Japan-affiliated companies, including a U.S. subsidiary of Denso, were targeted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
     A Denso spokesman said the company does not know if Wednesday's raid is linked to the antitrust probe by the FBI. Tokai Rika Co. and Yazaki Corp. were also investigated then.
==Kyodo
2011-07-21 00:34:05