Tokyo, November 20, 2025 — The Japanese authority released new guidance outlining how businesses should assess planned economic-security initiatives under the Antimonopoly Act, along with a companion casebook addressing 15 hypothetical scenarios developed with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
The documents — Basic approach to Antimonopoly Act compliance in business initiatives related to economic security and Casebook on economic security and the Antimonopoly Act — were presented at METI’s eighth Expert Panel on Strengthening Industrial and Technological Foundations for Economic Security.
The casebook provides the authority’s views on how core rules apply to coordination, information-sharing, joint initiatives and standard-setting when companies act to secure supply chains or manage geopolitical risks. These interpretations are based strictly on the hypothetical fact patterns supplied by METI and MLIT.
The authority encouraged firms and trade associations to review the materials when planning economic-security actions involving procurement, services, intellectual-property licensing, voluntary standards, joint projects or other cooperative measures. It also invited companies to consult its designated offices if they require clarification on how the Act applies to planned initiatives.
Links to the expert panel’s proceedings are available on METI’s website. The guidance and casebook can be downloaded directly from the authority’s site.
Source: https://www.jftc.go.jp/houdou/pressrelease/2025/nov/251120_economic.security.html
