An employee of Dentsu Inc., a major advertising company, allegedly pressured subcontractors not to cooperate with competitors over a bid for national benefits against the new coronavirus, and the employee was investigated by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. On the other hand, I learned from interviews with related parties that he explained that he did not want to leak his know-how to other companies and acknowledged the pressure.
The Fair Trade Commission is expected to publish the findings this week as well.
Dentsu's managers have pressured their business partners not to cooperate with competing Hakuhodo over a bid for the government's rent support benefit, which was set up as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus. In June, he was punished internally for making inappropriate statements.
The Fair Trade Commission is investigating this issue in response to the information provided by a third party and the "declaration" being made by a member of the Diet, and according to the people concerned, this employee is putting pressure on the subcontractor. He acknowledged the statement and explained that he did not want to leak the know-how of the national benefit business to other companies.
In recent years, Dentsu's sales from TV and newspaper advertisements have declined, while orders from the national and local governments have been increasing, and after the spread of the new coronavirus infection, Dentsu undertook operations such as "sustainable benefits."
The Fair Trade Commission is investigating whether employee statements violate antitrust laws and is expected to publish the results this week.