A complaints panel for government procurements said Friday that it has accepted a complaint from IBM Japan Ltd. over a failed bid for a supercomputer.
IBM Corp.'s Japanese unit insists that the successful bidder was decided based on a specification not included in the final specification sheet, the Government Procurement Review Board said.
IBM Japan, one of four companies bidding for the supercomputer for the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, said the selection process violates rules set in 1987 on procedures for government purchases of supercomputers.
The three other firms include computer giants Hitachi Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd.
Fujitsu was awarded the 1.3 billion yen contract on Sept. 28. The supercomputer will be set up in the institute's research facility in Kyoto in March.
The government board will issue a decision on the complaint by Jan. 7. If the complaint is upheld, the contract will be canceled and another tender initiated.
Motorola Japan Ltd. and other firms had submitted complaints to the board since its establishment in 1996 over contracts bids for the National Police Agency and East Japan Railway Co., but they were all rejected.