Japan Fair Trade Commission
Towards Fair and Free competition
How is the JFTC different from the police and prosecutors?
Difference between JFTC and police/prosecutors
Inspector Rokkaku Kosuke
Inspector Koshobu Tsutomu
Unlike the police and prosecutors, they have a strong authority to investigate crimes.
We investigate
Police ・ Prosecutors
Mandatory Investigation
Criminal Acts
Let's see what we can find.
JFTC
Administrative Inspection
Violation of Antimonopoly Law
The JFTC however, investigates companies that violate the Antimonopoly Act.
And since it's an administrative inspection, there's only so much we can do.
If you want someone to be punished for a crime, you have to inform the Prosecutor's Office and file charges.
Violation of Antimonopoly Law
JFTC
We'll provide information
Complaint
Prosecutor
Investigation
Culprit
I see.
That's why I can't get my head around prosecutors.
But prosecutors and the JFTC
protect different things, don't they?
Guardians of Competition
Ares Electronics has been reported to be abusing
its superior bargaining position with its business partners.
Bureau 6 decided to investigate.
But all of those proposals came from our suppliers.
Ares Electronics Product Development Division General Manager Shibano Ryuhei
With this many companies, it's usually difficult to be so co-ordinated.
President of Marukawa Metal Industry Co. Marukawa Toshiharu
One of the business partners must be in charge of keeping things together, right?
Marukawa.
...we know that Marukawa and Shibano have a personal connection.
...part of a team with the same goal.
I consider them my friends.
You called Shibano your friend, right?
But if you really believe that,
mistakes must be corrected, right?
Let's work together to stop Ares Electronics' wrongdoings.
Yes.
With this, we should be able to conduct a thorough on-site inspection of Ares Electronics.
Ares Electronics has terminated their contract with Ichiki Manufacturing Co.
They're making an example of us.
Hello.
Prosecutor Rokkaku, what's going on?
Inspector Rokkaku Kosuke
Prosecutor/Rokkaku's Father Rokkaku Atsuo
The investigation into Ares Electronics,
I'd like you to stop it at once.
Chief Inspector Honjo Satoko
What do you mean?
There are rumors that Shibano is involved in embezzlement.
We've decided to conduct our own investigation.
Embezzlement?
Inspector Momozono Chiyoko
Robbery, murder, and embezzlement.
How much of a scumbag is he?
That's only if you can prove it.
Public Prosecutor Komaba Naoki
But if you fail to do so and he gets away
there is a risk that the evidence will be destroyed.
What's that? Are you saying we'll let him get away?
Come on, Momozono!
Team Cap Kazami Shinichi
As soon as we're done, you can resume your investigation.
Do you accept?
We can't accept that.
- We're just one step away! - Hey Shirokuma.
You're just investigating subcontractor bullying.
What we are pursuing is a crime.
The level of importance is different.
Not important? Many people are suffering because of it.
New Inspector Shirokuma Kaede
We have to solve it as soon as possible.
I agree, but for now...
Huh? Aren't you....
Inspector Koshobu Tsutomu
abusing your superior position?
Koshobu!
That's why I came here to ask for a favor.
That's right.
That's why he came all the way here.
My apologies.
Even if it's a request from Prosecutor Rokkaku, I can't agree to it.
We just have to make sure Shibano doesn't get away.
Hey there...
- It can't be helped. - But...
Then, excuse me.
What's with that pompous attitude!
That's not pompous, it's not.
Is your dad like that at home?
Rokkaku?
- Ah. - Ah, nevermind.
But I'm surprised that Prosecutor Rokkaku showed up in person.
He wants to bring in Shibano Ryuhei on suspicion of embezzlement.
and then pursue the murder case from there, I believe.
Eh... So they're willing to go for it after all.
Well, that's good news.
I'm sure Shibano will be arrested too.
Yeah...
However, the subcontractor bullying is still our case. There's no need to hold back.
- Let's proceed with the investigation. - Yes. Yes.
A few days later
We're finally going to conduct an on-site inspection of Ares Electronics tomorrow.
I ask for everyone's cooperation.
The objective of this case
is to prove Ares Electronics is bullying its subcontractors.
The bullying is vicious and cruel.
Recently, one of the companies that cooperated with us
had their contract cut off from them.
This is an act of retaliation.
On behalf of those who believed in us and stood up for us.
Let's do everything in our power to suppress the evidence of the bullying.
Yes, ma'am.
Everyone, please stop your work for the moment.
We are the JFTC.
We will now conduct an on-site inspection.
Move aside. Move aside.
Move, move, move.
This is the Prosecutor's Office.
We have a warrant from the court.
We will now conduct a search and seizure.
What?
Uhm... Excuse me.
We promise not to interfere. The JFTC will have to wait.
Everyone, stand by.
What?
No way!
There's no need to worry.
We'll report anything we find regarding the bullying of subcontractors.
- You're in my way. - I'm sorry.
What are they doing? They're taking everything away.
Hahaha. We've been beaten.
- What's going on? - It's a mandatory investigation by the prosecutors.
Will we be okay?
Oh? Are you getting upset?
Ah, even the JFTC is here. Are you helping the prosecutors?
Look who's laughing now.
Can I ask you a question?
Please make it quick, I'm busy.
This is all we got...
We could have just done it on our own, huh?
It wouldn't have been a problem even with Rokkaku taking the day off due to a cold.
What do we do now? I don't think there's any evidence.
Keep going. We conducted an on-site inspection.
This is not a failure.
A failure is a failure.
I said it's not a failure, right?
Hurry up and move your hand.
I'm done!
There doesn't seem to be anything relevant, does there?
That's right. They took all the important documents.
Hmm, but we can't slack off yet.
I say we take this investigation right up to the very end.
That's what is important. Right?
Eh...
You say that, but please take it seriously.
This is also a confiscated document.
All things considered, wasn't it brilliant timing by the prosecutors?
They knew, didn't they? That we were going to do an on-site inspection today.
What?
Unlike on-site inspections.
mandatory investigations are not so easy to conduct, are they?
They would have been in a hurry.
Information on on-site inspections is also top secret, even from the prosecutors.
Someone must have leaked the information.
Who?
Someone who knew the date and time of the inspection and has connections with the Prosecutor's office.
That means the culprit is...
Rokkaku...
- NOT! - What the... hahaha
- There's no way it's him, right? - Despite all the free time he had...
Your paw! Your paw!
Ah, what's that. That's something from a long time ago.
- What? - It was an Ares Electronics product.
All things considered, it wasn't too shabby.
Let's read a little.
Father
Yes, Kosuke here.
You're the one who did it, Marukawa.
Shibano.
You cooperated with JFTC.
I never thought I'd be betrayed by you.
That's not true. I didn't want you to...
What is it?
It's fine, there's nothing JFTC can do anyway.
Another thing, Marukawa,
I'd like to ask everyone to do something for me again.
This is the new order form that Ares Electronics sent to 30 of their partners.
Nishina contacted me this morning.
What's this? Isn't the delivery schedule too tight?
The delivery date was moved up from March 3rd to February 27th.
The unit price has been lowered even further.
It's retaliation for cooperating with us, isn't it?
I'm sure that's part of it.
I heard that the release date of the new product has been moved up.
Why?
There was an announcement that a competing manufacturer would be launching a similar product.
They wanted to release it before that.
You know a lot, don't you?
It was reported in this magazine.
Ah.
Scheduled to be launched End of March 2022
Eh...
You have to take it seriously.
You never know what could be a clue.
Ah, but isn't this just a coincidence?
I heard that the deadline for the partners to accept this order is two weeks from now.
Well, if they refuse, there's a good chance they'll lose the contract.
We'll have to somehow gather evidence of subcontractor bullying
and file a cease and desist order before then.
But, what we can do now...
is nothing.
I hope they don't get scared of Ares Electronics and accept the order.
There's that.
Marukawa Metal has already accepted the order.
What?
And I heard that Ichiki's company, which was cut out of the contract, received a similar order.
On the condition that if the others accept this order, they will re-sign the contract.
Yes, I accepted it.
Because you've been informed of the details of the order in advance,
if you agreed to it and accepted the order, it won't be considered a violation.
In that case, there's nothing we can do.
I understand.
But it seems that they are planning to make a big announcement
about the accelerated release date soon...
At least with us, we don't want to antagonize them.
- Marukawa. - Are you still saying that?
Aren't you putting a strain on your employees as well?
I have no intention of forcing them to work overtime.
I'll take care of it.
You know you're just being used, don't you?
You don't understand, do you?
I'm sorry. Everything's good.
They said they'll re-sign with us
on the condition that we accept the new order.
We're being tested.
To find out if we are for or against Ares Electronics.
Damn... to what extent do they think we're stupid?
It's still better than losing the business.
We all have families.
Yeah, I know.
But with a tight schedule and low fees, how can we pay them a decent salary?
If we get a cease and desist order,
I'm sure they'll review the contract.
Can I trust you?
It's going to be alright. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating now.
If Shibano gets caught, everything will be resolved.
I'm sure they'll expose Shibano's wrongdoings.
I'm counting on you.
You shouldn't say unnecessary things like that.
It's not our place to say what the Prosecutor's Office is doing.
I'm sorry about that.
But everyone felt relieved, didn't they?
Only 10 days left until the deadline to respond.
Is there really nothing more we can do?
Doesn't the JFTC have any weapons other than reading documents?
Sit, sit, sit.
Sit. Oh...
Excuse me.
We got a call from the Prosecutor's Office.
Public Prosecutor on Secondment Midorikawa Eiko
And?
They couldn't find any evidence of Shibano's embezzlement.
Eh... What's that?
You made us wait this long?
They were completely unprepared.
What about the confiscated items?
They've already been returned to Ares Electronics.
No way... And we didn't get any notification at all?
Then let's do another on-site inspection.
No, that's not a good idea. It'll come across as insinuation.
And the prosecutors have checked everything, there's no way we'll find anything.
We won't know until we try.
Hey wait...
These were no good.
These were no good either.
This is not good. We forced an on-site inspection onto them.
I still feel like this is pointless.
The prosecutors looked at the documents once, right?
Work quietly.
If nothing comes out of this, there's nothing we can do.
Gather physical evidence and get testimonies from the people involved.
That's the JFTC's job, isn't it?
Please concentrate. You're slow.
I'm working very hard.
Hello. DFT is here.
DFT Konno Mamori
Ah! I've been waiting for you, Konno.
Thanks for your hard work.
In the meantime, I need you to restore the deleted computer data.
- Understood. Which one is it? - The hallway.
At least treat us to something.
Hey, Cap.
What!?
What's that?
- Yes. This is Bureau 6. - Eh? What's going on?
Oh, Nishina, yes.
Ah, I see... Eh?
Okay, please wait a moment.
Uhm... Marukawa,
he was hospitalized due to overwork.
Eh?
That's what you get for taking that order.
But times of weakness give us a chance to obtain information.
I knew you'd say that.
We don't have much time. The two of you,
go talk to him and ask about Shibano's weaknesses.
I'm sure you're sick and tired of reading documents too.
Don't worry, I'll be back to work soon.
You're pushing yourself too hard, aren't you, for Shibano's sake?
Why are you going that far?
You used to play baseball together. Is there more to it than that?
He's not the man you all think he is.
Eh?
In junior high school, Shibano was...
the kind of guy who practiced more than anyone else to win...
But in his last year of middle school...
I injured him during a match.
Because of that injury.
Shibano couldn't participate in the games after that.
We lost the match, too.
It was Shibano's dream to win the championship.
Then, we met again as adults...
I never thought Shibano would join Ares Electronics.
You're going to take over your parents' business, right?
Yeah... but I never thought we'd meet again like this.
Ah, that's right.
I found this at home. Do you remember?
Ah... I'm sorry about that time.
What are you talking about? These were good memories.
We worked hard, didn't we?
Yeah...
Now we're on the same team again.
We didn't win the championship in baseball.
But let's aim for the top in business this time.
Shibano.
We'll make the best products that'll surprise the world.
Yeah.
To make it to the top in a big company,
you have to do dirty things, don't you?
Sure, that guy changed little by little.
But... I'm sure he hasn't forgotten how he felt then.
I want to make his dream come true this time.
He spoke very passionately, didn't he?
You're right.
Ah, hello.
Are you all here to visit?
Yes.
Seriously, he's so good-natured he would work to the point of collapse.
How's the prosecutors' investigation going?
The prosecutors have closed the investigation.
You mean they couldn't arrest Shibano?
Ah, but JFTC hasn't given up yet.
The prosecutors have given up, right?
So it's impossible now?
No, that's not what I meant.
Well... if it's impossible, please say so.
We have to take a stand.
Oh, hold off on that.
There is still one week left until the deadline for a response.
Maybe it was a mistake to go against them in the first place.
Let's go.
Excuse me.
If it was not possible, wouldn't it be better to tell them earlier?
Those guys have a point.
After all, you can't go against your superiors.
Even you were forced to come to the JFTC under orders from the top, right?
You can't go against them.
The JFTC can't go against the prosecutors either.
And the prosecutors can't disobey orders from the top either.
That's the way the world works.
It can't be helped.
Why are they all working for the JFTC?
Honjo and Koshobu, too.
It's really a mystery.
Rokkaku, why did you join the JFTC?
Because I failed the bar exam and couldn't become a prosecutor.
So you wanted to be a prosecutor.
Well, more or less.
The JFTC?
Yes, I managed to get a job offer.
Will you be satisfied with that?
No...
Well, it's okay.
I'm sure your experience at the JFTC will come in handy.
One of these days, I'll bring you into the Prosecutor's Office.
Yes, sir.
I want you to aim high.
Don't let me down.
Hmm...
So Marukawa continues to believe in Shibano.
It's another sports-minded episode isn't it?
Sorry, that's all I could get out of him.
Did you find any clues?
Nothing.
Not even a single document or piece of evidence related to the business partners.
Only documents from companies they don't do business with.
This is the kind of data you use when you're looking for suppliers.
It's obviously unnatural that there's nothing at all.
They probably destroyed them after the investigation.
That's right. They'd be wary. They've been investigated twice.
Hey Rokkaku, you're not eating? If you don't want it, I'll eat it.
- Don't! - Ouch!
Rokkaku, eat up. It'll be a long night too.
Then, I can't do it anymore.
How can you work so hard?
It seems like the bosses are still protecting their employees.
But sooner or later, they'll lose patience.
The bullying will be passed on to them.
Salary, working hours, etc.
Injustice spreads from the top down.
It's still better than losing the business.
We all have families.
But with a tight schedule and low fees, how can we pay them a decent salary?
Maybe it was a mistake to go against them in the first place.
That's not all.
Price, speed of development, various unreasonable requests.
With products that are completed at the expense of subcontractors,
honest companies would have no match against them.
If that's the case, these honest companies
would start to behave the same as Ares Electronics.
And the wrongdoing will spread again.
We have to stop it now.
When it comes to catching criminals, we can't compete against the police and prosecutors.
But that's not what we're dealing with.
It's something invisible and much bigger.
Here.
If you understand, then eat up.
Then, I'm going to take the dog for a little walk.
Okay.
Huh? What did Koshobu just say?
Uhm, I have a question.
Okay.
That's all of the documents.
This is no good...
The response deadline to Ares Electronics is tomorrow.
If there's anything that can be done, there's still time.
Eh?
Sorry to keep you waiting.
We need to read the recovered documents.
The recovered documents too.
Even Ares Electronics must have at least assumed that the data would be recovered.
Right?
I'm sorry.
What's wrong, all of a sudden?
It's me.
I leaked information to the prosecutors.
What?
My father said he'd put me in the Prosecutor's Office, and I couldn't resist.
And I thought the prosecutors would solve it.
I knew it was something like that.
What?
It was pretty obvious.
You all knew?
Of course.
We're inspectors.
How many lies and emotions do you think we've seen through?
Right...
I see. That's right.
It's my fault that things turned out like this, isn't it?
- Well, you know... - It's too early for that kind of thing.
It's not over yet.
Eh?
But it's already...
Take a look at this.
Did you find it? Evidence of bullying?
It's data from Ares Electronics' own survey of the 30 business partners.
It looks like the data was deleted a long time ago.
Ah... It's survey data from the time they signed the contract.
What about this?
I don't think it's evidence of bullying.
But... I found something interesting.
Tomorrow is the deadline for us to respond to Ares Electronics.
We're going to accept it.
After all, the contract with Ares Electronics is necessary for my company.
That's right.
But as we expected, that order is...
So I have an idea.
I suggest we ask Ares Electronics to review the contents of the order, and re-negotiate.
There's no way they'll agree to that.
I'm going to retract my testimony to the JFTC and apologize to Ares Electronics.
Apologize...
I believe that's all we can do. Everyone, what do you think?
Sorry for interrupting.
Um... I heard that you're all here.
- What is it... - Is it possible...
Did you find evidence of wrongdoing?
No, no. Uhm...
They are indeed a big company.
It seems they're very thorough about not leaving anything behind that could be used against them.
That's enough. I retract my previous testimony.
Please stop the investigation.
We didn't find any evidence,
but I found something interesting among the deleted data.
It's a report from Ares Electronics' about research and evaluation of your companies.
But... I found something interesting.
All these partners scored higher than other companies who did not have a contract with Ares Electronics.
Hmm? How do you know that?
We had a lot of data on companies they didn't have a contract with.
Oh...
Only documents from companies they don't do business with.
Oh, this? Here.
Here... here...
Every data entry is totally different.
We found the survey results of your companies,
and the results of companies not under contract with Ares Electronics.
We found that your companies' evaluation scores were overwhelmingly high.
Eh, what?
So what does this all mean...?
It means that you are Ares Electronics's selected business partners.
We are...
In fact, Ares Electronics has signed a contract with Ichiki again, didn't they?
The reason for that is...
they couldn't find another company that could match the technology they were looking for.
As long as you are contracted to do a job, you are in a lower position.
But to Ares Electronics,
all of you are indispensable.
All of you are not weak.
We are not weak...
All of us...
It's fine even if you don't do business with Ares Electronics, right?
After all, your technology is recognized by the world famous Ares Electronics.
Wait a minute, Koshobu.
Are you sure it's okay to say that?
Eh?
So, there you have it...
Please discuss the rest among yourselves.
Eh? Eh...
What are you doing?
Don't make fun of me just because I'm lower!!
Good work.
Wasn't that a little too much?
If we don't say something like that,
who knows if they would take on more new orders.
But in the end, we couldn't find any evidence of subcontractor bullying.
There is no way we can go after Shibano with this.
The on-site inspection failed. Checking the documents failed.
The only thing we can do now
is to persuade him to admit it.
There's no way Shibano will admit to it.
It may be impossible for us...
Deadline for response to Ares Electronics Actual Day
- There will be a bigger screen on the stage there. - Good.
So, we're planning to fill up the press and audience seats over there eventually.
Great.
Excuse me.
Hello. We've been expecting you.
We wanted to talk to you about the new order.
We don't have time to waste. Please work on it right away.
Would you mind reviewing the order?
This is the consensus of us 30 companies.
Are you sure?
Then we'll have no choice but to look elsewhere.
We understand.
We have no choice.
What a shame, we've known each other for a long time.
Let's go.
If you'll excuse me.
- Find alternative subcontractors right away. - Yes.
You sure that's a good thing? Letting everyone go like that.
You know better than anyone,
that their skills are indispensable
for the development of new products.
We have plenty of subcontractors.
Using parts made by other companies,
do you think you can make a satisfactory product?
Oh, it's Marukawa.
Can you give me a minute?
I understand, but...
I'll definitely persuade Shibano, that's why...
What the heck is that guy doing?
Marukawa still hasn't given up
on making the best products.
Do you know why he's going this far?
Marukawa told us
your baseball dreams didn't come true.
But he wants to make your dreams come true this time.
To make the best products and aim for the top.
He's always believed in what you said.
We have to launch before the competition,
at a price...
But that's your fight, isn't it?
It's not something you impose on those below you.
Those below you can support you.
You still have friends who support you.
Marukawa...
has been desperately trying to keep you in your position.
It's not too late.
Why don't you admit what you've done and apologize?
I'd like to give this back.
It was on your desk and I've been wondering about it.
Why would you keep such an old product on your desk?
I heard this was the first product you and Marukawa developed together.
An employee of Marukawa Metal told me.
Uhm, I have a question.
Yes.
Do you know what this is?
It didn't sell very well.
But it still works even after almost 15 years.
It seems he was very particular about the quality.
Marukawa!
Oh!
- It's finished. - Is it done?
- See! - Whoa!
Hahaha...!
How is it?
- Does it move? - This one moves.
Oh! Amazing, amazing!
Shibano, about the replacement subcontractors,
I've contacted the companies, and they're all willing to do it.
It looks like it's going to be okay. Shall I place the order?
You haven't forgotten about it either, have you?
Why don't you hang in there for a little longer? Please.
Marukawa.
Marukawa, that's enough.
Shibano?
I'll review the contract.
I acknowledge what we've done so far.
Everyone, please lend me your strength.
We need your strength.
I'm sorry for what I've done.
Shibano, you...
So you admit to bullying subcontractors.
Yes.
Then, could you please come to the JFTC?
I understand.
What are you doing?
Koshobu asked me to do it for him.
He asked me to make a list of all the orders made by Ares Electronics,
to the 30 partners.
Why?
He he wanted to check something that was bothering him.
Please help me out a little.
I'm sorry, I'd like to, but there's still a lot going on...
Koshobu said he'd be very happy to let you take the credit for it.
All of it?
Which one?
Almost all...
I'm sorry.
I won't be joining the Prosecutor's Office after all.
What do you mean?
I don't think everything has to do with getting to the top.
What are you talking about?
I'm more interested in becoming a full-fledged inspector at the JFTC.
That's why
I'd like to pretend this whole thing about going to the Prosecutor's Office never happened.
I'm disappointed in you.
Yes.
The JFTC?
Huh? Rokkaku, what are you doing here?
Well, nothing much.
So? Where's the information?
Yes, here it is...
This is a list of order amounts from Ares Electronics' partners.
And here's a list of order amounts from Ares Electronics.
Hey Momozono, that's sneaky.
Please look here.
Notice the difference in the amounts.
I had a feeling there was a difference in the amounts,
So I made a list to check.
I noticed the difference too...
Although it's a small difference, but over a two-year period
and across 30 companies,
that adds up to a large amount of money.
Isn't this a clue to the embezzlement case?
I helped with that too.
- Komaba. - I'm sorry.
It... can't be helped.
The Prosecutor's Office was only looking into Ares Electronics.
For us, it's not just Ares Electronics,
We did a thorough background check on 30 of their business partners.
Creating Beyond the Imagination
The new Ares Revo goes on sale in May.
The release date has been pushed back.
The price is also much higher than originally announced.
It means that they are playing fair and square.
But will this be enough to beat the competition?
I wonder... I guess we'll never know.
But in the end, we didn't learn anything about the robbery/murder case, did we?
Well, the embezzlement case...
got a huge break based on a list that I and Momozono prepared.
I'm sure the Prosecutor's Office will do something about it.
Reading recovered documents is amazing, isn't it?
Yeah.
Even if it's boring.
Rokkaku... why are you still here?
I thought you were going to the Prosecutor's Office?
Ah... I gave up.
Oh, you noticed?
Even if you went there, you wouldn't be able to keep up with us anyway.
That's not true.
Then why?
Because...
it's ONE of the mysteries of the JFTC.
What's that?
Excuse me, I came to report on the embezzlement case.
- Oh, did you solve it? - Yes.
Based on the evidence you all found, the Prosecutor's Office conducted an investigation.
We were able to apprehend the culprit without any trouble.
So you can do it if you tried.
However, the culprit wasn't Shibano.
It was his subordinate, Kitamura.
Huh? Shibano had nothing to do with it?
Yes.
Then, what about the robbery/murder? That was the main objective, wasn't it?
Shibano denies it.
He also testified that he didn't know about the bullying.
It seems they used the embezzlement case as an excuse to thoroughly investigate Shibano's background,
but it seems that he's not lying.
Now, if you'll excuse me.
No way...
Then, we still don't know anything...
But you got your revenge, didn't you?
Eh?
As the JFTC,
we exposed Shibano's wrongdoings, didn't we?
He's the one the police and prosecutors backed off from.
That's right.
Shall we begin then?
Yes.
We finally got it all together, the case of Ares Electronics...
Male executive at Ractor Construction dies Investigated as a robbery-homicide case
Excuse me.
Go ahead.
In the end, we didn't learn anything about the robbery/murder case that happened half a year ago.
I still don't know.
Koga Yasuhiro, an executive of a major construction company,
Ractor Construction, was murdered.
Behind this murder case
lurks a powerful darkness
that could shake the very foundations of this country.
We at Bureau 6...
would eventually take the fight to that darkness.