Japan investigators raid express firms over surcharge price fixing

Japan investigators raid express firms over surcharge price fixing Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is investigating some of the country’s biggest express service providers, with government officials on Wednesday raiding the offices of Nippon Express, Kinetsu Express and Yusen Air & Sea Service Co., among others.
   Japanese press reported that 13 companies, as well as the Japan Aircargo Forwarders Association, are involved in the investigation over price fixing on express services. The allegations center around surcharges for fuel and security costs that were tacked on to cargo fees uniformly by all the companies, which is a violation of Japanese antimonopoly law, the news reports say.
   The companies involved in the investigation control about 75 percent of the express market in Japan.