Kotori inspects five major travel agencies in Aomori City|Suspicion of bid-rigging in the city's corona-related business
On November 15, 2023, the Japan Fair Trade Commission conducted on-site inspections of five major travel agencies in Aomori City regarding allegations of bid-rigging in the transportation of people infected with the new coronavirus.
Destinations are Japan Tourist, JTB, Japan Travel Tohoku, Tobu Top Tours, and Meitetsu Kanko Service's Aomori Branch. The work that is suspected is that Aomori City ordered five transfers of people infected with the new coronavirus in FY2022, and due to bid-rigging, Japan Tourist may have been entrusted with all five times and assigned the work to four other companies.
When asked about the future of the Fair Trade Commission, the editorial department explained, "Normally, if a bid-rigging is determined after interviewing the parties concerned, the evidence is shown, the parties involved are heard, and if a violation of the Antimonopoly Act is found, administrative sanctions are enforced.
When asked about Aomori City, he said, "I was surprised to hear from the press yesterday that subcontracting is prohibited, but it may be possible to apply for documents at the time of bidding. However, there was no application for re-consignment in the documents of Japan Tourist. All of the business liaison work was done with Kinto."
