Japan May Fine Five Parts Makers in Anti-Trust Probe

Japan's Fair Trade Commission will impose penalties on five domestic auto suppliers charged with violating anti-trust laws, according to local news reports that cite anonymous sources.

The FTC alleges that the companies conspired to rig bids and fix prices for alternators, radiators, starters and windshield wipers since about 2002, news outlets say. The charges stem from an ongoing probe by authorities in Japan, the European Union and the U.S. into auto supplier cartels.

The affected companies reportedly are Calsonic Kansei, Hitachi Automotive, Mitsuba, Mitsubishi Electronic and T. Rad. Anti-trust officials raided the offices of those companies in July 2011, according to The Japan Times.

The FTC has notified the suppliers that it will issue cease-and-desist orders against them. Fines on each company could range as high as 1 billion yen ($13 million), the Times reports.

The American government has settled price-fixing charges with six Japanese suppliers and collected more than $790 million in fines. Nine executives at those companies have pleaded guilty of participating in the schemes, paid fines and been sentenced to U.S. prison terms of one to two years.