Recently, injunction actions or damage claims have occasionally been brought in Japan on the grounds of violation of antitrust law.  Some of them seem to be aimed at obtaining evidence that the Japan Fair Trade Commission (the “JFTC”) has gathered to use for civil litigation outside Japan.  In addition, certain actions permissible under foreign antitrust law, including abuse of a superior bargaining position, are prohibited under Japanese antitrust law; antitrust civil litigation in Japan therefore can have unique grounds.  For these reasons, the number of antitrust injunction actions and damage claims in Japan is expected to increase in the near future.

Among various antitrust cases, global cartel cases are usually accompanied by civil litigation outside Japan.  We advise, based on considerable experience both in antitrust law and litigation, on how to prevent, or represent companies in such litigation, most notably class actions on the grounds of violation of antitrust laws in the United States.  Further, we, in cooperation with foreign law firms, including U.S. firms, manage class actions in the United States by utilizing our expertise in international litigation cases.