Japan: Japan Fair Trade Commission and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry opened consultation on draft amendments to order for Enforcement Regulations of Act on Promotion of Competition Pertaining to Specified Software Used on Smartphones

On 15 May 2025, the Japan Fair Trade Commission and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry opened a consultation on the draft amendments to an order for Enforcement Regulations of Act on Promotion of Competition Pertaining to Specified Software Used on Smartphones (Act No. 58 of 2024), enacted in June 2024 until 13 June 2025. The Enforcement Regulations outline the procedures for the notification of specified software providers that they are identified as 'designated business operators', that is, operators identified as having certain obligations to ensure protections against potential unilateral conduct. They also outline the obligations of 'designated business operators', the nature of investigation procedures, and other supplementary provisions further detailing procedures. The draft introduces several revisions. First, the new Enforcement Regulations require documents used in the Enforcement proceedings to be in Japanese. Second, technical standards for submitting documents are outlined in further detail. Third, the Fair Trade Commission is appointed responsible for designation and investigation procedures. Fourth, designated business operators are explicitly prohibited to exclude or restrict app providers from using payment management services from third parties, or from offering goods or services which compete with the designated business operator. Fifth, it includes provisions on calculation methods for penalty-related sales volumes.