On October 29, Hiroo Iwanari, Secretary-General of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, explained "Cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in enforcing the Act on the Proper Operation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Contract Trade (Revised Subcontracting Act)" at a regular press conference, indicating a policy to strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as part of cooperation with the ministries in charge of businesses.
<Japan Fair Trade Commission>
The Act on the Regulation of Contracting Businesses grants the minister in charge of the relevant government ministry the authority to provide guidance and advice. In order to ensure an environment that makes it easier for small and medium-sized contractors to report wrongdoing, the minister in charge of the relevant government ministry has been added as a recipient for reporting "prohibition of retaliatory measures," in addition to the current Fair Trade Commission and the Commissioner of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency.
Currently, the government ministries responsible for businesses are only granted investigative powers, but there was a need to further expand coordinated enforcement between the Fair Trade Commission, the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, and the government ministries responsible for businesses. When a report was made to the government ministry responsible for the business (such as the "Truck and Logistics G-Men"), it was not subject to the "prohibition of retaliatory measures" under the Subcontracting Act.
On October 28th and 29th, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) conducted large-scale joint shipper patrols in Tokyo, directly informing businesses about the Act on Control and Improvement of Contracts for Trade and Industry. Secretary-General Iwanari explained specific measures to strengthen cooperation with the ministries and agencies responsible for businesses regarding the Act on Control and Improvement of Contracts for Trade and Industry, stating, "By not only raising awareness through joint shipper patrols but also by coordinating awareness efforts on a nationwide scale, we will be able to cooperate smoothly in enforcing the Act after it comes into effect. In addition, the JFTC will distribute manuals summarizing know-how on investigations and guidance to the ministries and agencies responsible for businesses in order to ensure smooth enforcement cooperation, and will also conduct training for the ministries and agencies responsible for businesses on know-how on investigations."
■See Truck News for details.
Joint patrol by the Japan Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism: Shippers express surprise, saying, "We didn't expect the Japan Fair Trade Commission to accompany us."
https://www.trucknews.biz/article/r102932/
