The Fair Trade Commission searched about 30 Mitsubishi Materials Kenzai Corp. and Nozawa Corp. outlets Tuesday on suspicion they ran an illegal sales cartel for construction materials.
The two companies are suspected of violating the antimonopoly law by fixing the prices and shares of the materials they sold in advance. The materials in question were used to make the outer walls of buildings and houses, according to industry sources.
Mitsubishi Materials Kenzai, based in Tokyo, and Nozawa, based in Kobe, have a virtual monopoly on domestic production of the materials, leading the FTC to believe there was an illegal cartel operating nationwide, the sources said.
The FTC also conducted on-site inspections of sales firms that are clients of the two companies, they said.
The sources said the two companies were apparently trying to stabilize sales prices amid the construction-sector slump, which has been marked by declining public works projects and lower costs.
Mitsubishi Materials Kenzai declined to comment on the inspections, saying it is not aware of the details, while Nozawa denied it has done anything illegal.
The FTC conducted on-site inspections at Asahi Kasei Construction Materials Co. and two other makers in late January on suspicion they formed an illegal sales cartel for light-weight foam concrete boards.