Two of Japan’s major
panel makers, Hitachi Display and Sharp, are going to be investigated by the
Fair Trade Commission.
The Fair Trade
Commission represents Japan’s
fair trade watchdog; the institution said on Thursday that the two electronics
companies would be investigated because they were suspected of fixing prices of
display panels for Nintendo’s DS portable gaming devices. The Commission’s
investigators have already searched a few factories and offices owned by Sharp
and Hitachi’s
display unit, Hitachi Display.
The two major
companies were said to have fixed prices of their LCD panels before supplying
them to Nintendo for its popular DS gaming consoles since 2005. Sharp and
Hitachi Displays are the only two small LCD panels suppliers for Nintendo’s DS
and DS Lite gaming devices.
Based in Osaka, Sharp has been
supplying LCD panels since Nintendo launched its DS back in November 2004,
while Tokyo-based Hitachi Display started supplying small LCD panels one year
later, according to the Fair Trade Commission.
The Commission’s
investigators estimated that the alleged price-fixing started when Hitachi
Display joined Sharp in supplying Nintendo with LCD panels for its DS gaming
devices.
If found guilty
of violating the anti-monopoly laws, Sharp and Hitachi Display might face a fine
of 10 percent of their sales.
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