Abstract
Although there have been no formal merger cases in Japan since 1973, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) publishes around 10–13 unofficial cases each year. These usually include at least one case from the pharmaceutical industry. This chapter reviews cases where the JFTC seems to have conducted a characteristic analysis. For example, the JFTC usually delineates a product market starting with the ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification) Level 3 in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and does not consider the so-called innovation market. It is true the JFTC cares about the disappearance of incentives for research and development (R&D). However, its concern is not just a decrease in R&D investment or channels, but an impact on competition in a specific market. I will then summarise general problems with JFTC merger regulation. Many of the published cases are standardised, and that the process of analysis and the basis of judgment are unclear. In response to such criticisms, in recent cases the JFTC uses an economic analysis and publishes its findings in more detail. However, there remain other problems such that the JFTC relies heavily on behavioural remedies rather than structural ones, even in horizontal mergers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
20 Shinketsu-shu 62 (Hiroshima Electric Railway and Hiroshima Bus)
- 2.
https://www.biosimilar.jp/biosimilar_list.html (last accessed 27 June 2021).
- 3.
Business Combinations Guidelines, PART IV.2 (1) F.
- 4.
Id.
- 5.
Guidelines Concerning Joint Research and Development under the Antimonopoly Act (1993, revised 2017), Part II. (1) [2].
- 6.
Guidelines for the Use of Intellectual Property under the Antimonopoly Act (2007, revised 2016), Part II. (5).
- 7.
Business Combinations Guidelines, PART V, VI.
- 8.
Business Combinations Guidelines, Part VII.1.
- 9.
Policies Concerning Procedures of Review of Business Combination (2011, revised 2019), 6(2).
References
Wakui, M. (2019). Antimonopoly law: Competition law and policy in Japan.
Have, F. T., Martinez, J. T., & Demertzi, E. (2016). The European Commission’s Pharmaceutical merger control practice: An overview of the state of play. World Competition, 39(1), 85–118.
Figueroa, P., & Guerrero, A. (2019). EU law of competition and trade in the pharmaceutical sector. Edward Elgar Publishing
Takeda, K. (2012). Kigyou ketsugou kisei niokeru teiryouteki hyouka to teiseiteki hyouka (Quantitative and qualitative evidence in merger regulation). The Annual of the Japan Association of Economic Law, 2012, 42–61.
Iren Mirabile et al. (2015). Protecting the drugs of tomorrow: Competition and innovation in healthcare, Competition Merger Brief 2/2015.
Hayashii, S. (2011). Kigyou ketugou kisei (Merger regulation), Shoji Houmu, Tokyo.
Kurita, M. (2012). Zikkouteki na kigyoukisei seido no kakuritu ni muketa kadai (Institutional problems of merger review under the AMA: The quest for an effective regime). The Annual of the Japan Association of Economic Law, 2012, 62–79.
Tahira, M. (2020). Kigyou ketsugou kisei niokeru sinsa to tetsuzuki no arikata (How does merger control work in Japan?). The Annual of the Japan Association of Economic Law, 2020, 50–63.
Vande Walle, S. (2021). Digital Platform ziken ni okeru mondai kaishou soti to Kakuyaku soti no zikkousei (Competition law and digital platforms: Are remedies and commitments effective?). The Annual of the Japan Association of Economic Law 2021.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Takeda, K. (2022). Merger Regulations in the Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry. In: Negishi, A., Wakui, M., Mariyama, N. (eds) Competition Law and Policy in the Japanese Pharmaceutical Sector. Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7814-1_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7814-1_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-7813-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-7814-1
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)