The Japan Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-site inspection of an IT company in Osaka City on the suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act, which hindered the entry of competitors over bids on websites ordered by local governments.
Two companies, including the IT company "Smart Value," headquartered in Chuo-ku, Osaka, underwent on-site inspections on suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act.
According to people familiar with the matter, the two companies have urged competitors to disallow systems using "open source software" that is open to the public and available free of charge over bids for website management systems conducted by multiple municipalities. There is a suspicion that it unreasonably interfered with the entry.
Smart Value uses its own software, and the Fair Trade Commission believes that it has tried to secure profits by eliminating other companies that utilize open source, which can keep costs down.
Smart Value says, "We believe that there are no legal issues, but we will take the fact that we have undergone on-site inspections seriously and sincerely, and will fully cooperate with the inspections of the Japan Fair Trade Commission. "And so on.