Japan: First antitrust parallel imports case resolved under commitment procedures

Wilson Sporting Goods Co. (“Wilson”), and its subsidiary and sole authorised distributor in Japan, Amer Sports Japan, Inc. (“Amer”), had been under investigation since 2020 on suspicion of interfering with parallel importers’ transactions, which is prohibited as unfair trade practices under Japanese antitrust law (i.e. the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade, or the “AMA”). The Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”) closed the investigation after issuing the notice of Commitment Procedures and approving the commitment plans submitted by Wilson and Amer. In cases resolved under the Commitment Procedures, the JFTC does not rule on whether the alleged conduct is an infringement of the AMA and accordingly, no sanctions were imposed on Wilson and Amer.

According to the JFTC’s guidelines on distribution and trade practices under the AMA, parallel imports promote price competition in a market and accordingly, if conducted to maintain prices, its obstruction would be considered problematic under the AMA. The last enforcement action involving parallel imports was taken in 1998, and this is the first case resolved under the Commitment Procedures where not only a domestic sales subsidiary but also its US parent company were required to submit commitment plans.