15:38 JST, October 9, 2026

If the prices of beer — a daily pleasure for many households — have been unfairly inflated, it constitutes a serious betrayal of consumers. The Japan Fair Trade Commission should uncover the entire picture of the matter through a strict investigation.

The JFTC has launched a compulsory investigation into the four major beer companies under the Antimonopoly Law for unreasonable restraint of trade. Suspicions have grown that they formed a price-fixing cartel regarding the shipping prices of such products as beer and happoshu (low-malt beer).

The JFTC intends to pursue the investigation with an eye toward filing criminal charges with prosecutors.

The market is in a state of oligopoly, with the four companies — Asahi Breweries Ltd., Kirin Brewery Co., Suntory Spirits Ltd. and Sapporo Breweries Ltd. — holding a........

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