Law revisions drafted after manufacturing data scandals

February 27, 2018

Tokyo- In response to quality data scandals involving a number of major Japanese manufacturers that came to light last year, the government on Tuesday adopted bills to revise related laws including the unfair competition prevention law.

The bills call for raising the maximum fine by 100-fold to 100 million yen for the unauthorized use of Japanese Industrial Standards certification symbols while expanding the JIS coverage to include data and services, in addition to industrial products.

The bills also feature the establishment of a system that would allow requests for injunctions against the fraudulent acquisition or provision of industrial data, such as product sales figures, as well as a reduction by half in patent charges on small businesses.

The government will submit the bills during the ongoing session of parliament. Jiji Press