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The story
On October 7, Nippon TV News reported that Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has launched a forcible investigation into the four major beer sellers — Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory. The companies are suspected of coordinating the timing and size of price hikes over many years. On 5ch, reactions split wide open: some joked that Japan has had a “collusion culture since the Kamakura era,” others pointed to a tax system that pushes prices into lockstep, and some speculated the investigation might actually bring prices down.
10/7 (Wed) 10:32
Nippon TV News NNN
Over suspected price-fixing in the beer market, Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has just launched a forcible investigation into four beer sales companies — Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory.
Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Original article here
What people said
Japan's been a nation of bid-rigging since the Kamakura era (1185–1333)
And it's worked out fine for us so far
There's even a rest stop on the Chuo Expressway named "Dango-zaka" (literally "Collusion Hill")
Don't disrespect capitalism
Everyone already knows that
The whole food industry does it
It's not just the food industry
Bid-rigging is old news at this point — what's weird is why beer got picked out of all the cartels out there
Thanks to Abe raising the tax, happoshu basically turned into water!
Kinmugi and Honkirin got reclassified as actual "beer" too, so they'll probably keep hiking prices from there
Each company discloses its production costs
So they're probably coordinating a price floor so everyone can still turn a decent profit
It's too flavorful for me
Dry beer is just easier to drink
People are just going to keep drinking less, and that'll be the end of it
"Third category" beer already got reclassified as real beer, so happoshu's probably next to go
Docomo, au, SoftBank all over again huh
They play that game well
One breaks ranks now and then, but the others fall right back in line, so prices never actually drop
Japan's slipped to mid-tier status and still can't kick the alcohol habit — a pathetic nation in decline
Someone who has no clue how many beer varieties exist in Europe and the US is talking
You've probably never watched foreign news in your life
You're just cherry-picking anti-alcohol stories from overseas that confirm what you want to believe
That's exactly why nobody invites you to drinking parties
When I went to Paris, tons of people were drinking wine in broad daylight
In Vienna too, plenty of people were drinking beer on weekday evenings
Is this raid going to send beer prices through the roof then
Ever since the plastic bag charge, the government's just been doing whatever convenience stores and supermarkets want
"Suspected of coordinating the size and timing of price increases over many years"
↑
That includes companies that didn't even need to raise prices
This is just a piggyback hike where everyone matched the same increase
It's the opposite
This could actually make beer cheaper
Until now they coordinated to wholesale it to supermarkets at a high price
There may even have been pressure on supermarkets not to sell it cheap in some cases
Because if one supermarket sold it cheap, they'd have to sell it cheap to every other retailer too
That would eat into the beer companies' profits
So they coordinated to keep the wholesale price high to avoid that
The FTC should hit each company with something like a 10 billion yen fine so they never want to cartel again lol
Seriously, this
Otherwise they'll definitely do it again
Even if they do that, consumers still only have the big brands to pick from, so is it really a punishment? It's just for show
That's exactly why they can't compete at all overseas
Big companies might as well rewrite their articles of incorporation to say "fighting over tax money" as their core business
If they actually want free competition, fix the tax system that's designed to squeeze every last yen first
When you're taking 50 yen in tax off a 200 yen product, of course prices all end up lined up the same
Exactly this
Same deal with gas prices being basically identical everywhere
Cigarettes get taxed even harder, and yet their prices aren't all identical
Yebisu might actually be stronger than Suntory
Kirin really is strong — I thought it'd be neck-and-neck with Asahi
Lol, Kagoshima's the only prefecture with no answer
Background and key points of this story
This isn’t the first time beer makers have faced suspicion of violating Japan’s Antimonopoly Act (cartel behavior) — the Fair Trade Commission has cracked down on similar practices in the food and beverage industry before. On the thread, some laughed it off as “just Japan’s usual bid-rigging habit, nothing new,” while others pointed out that if the companies had been propping up prices together, prices could actually fall once the crackdown takes effect. Years of tax hikes on happoshu and other beer-type beverages — plus the shift of new-genre liquor-based drinks like Honkirin and Kinmugi into the “beer” tax category — form part of the backdrop to the industry’s pricing pressure. For now this is only a forcible investigation stage; no Antimonopoly Act violation has been formally confirmed. If a violation is established, it could lead to surcharge payments and cease-and-desist orders, which may in turn affect the industry’s pricing structure.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Breaking] Beer prices may have been coordinated — FTC launches forcible investigation into Asahi, Kirin, and other major beer makers“.
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