Activities of Agricultural Cooperatives from the Perspective of Japan’s Competition Law: Focusing on Exclusive Supply Arrangements for Agricultural Products

Abstract

The significance of agricultural and other cooperatives has long been analyzed from the perspective of competition law. Since their members are small-scale farmers, the collective actions of these members through cooperatives have been theoretically justified as enabling them to act as competitive units, thereby promoting fair negotiations with counterparties such as wholesalers. This rationale has served as the basis for exempting agricultural cooperatives from Japan’s Antimonopoly Act (Article 22). However, in recent years, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has investigated several agricultural and fisheries cooperatives, suspecting violations of the Antimonopoly Act, and has issued cease-and-desist orders as well as administrative warnings in various cases.

This thesis aims to assess the legal implications of the "obligation and system to deliver all agricultural products to agricultural cooperatives," which has been the focus of recent JFTC investigations. The assessment will be based on an examination of precedents and discussions in both Japan and Europe.

Keywords: antitrust, competition law, japan, Agricultural Cooperative