Consulting with competitors on product prices and attributing increases to inflation: this is the strategy that six Japanese ice cream brands have reportedly used to increase their profits. On June 16, the Fair Trade Commission carried out inspections at the headquarters of companies Akagi Nyugyo, Ezaki Glico, Lotte, Meiji, Morinaga Milk Industry and Morinaga & Co, suspected of having violated antitrust law, reports the economic daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Attached to the Prime Minister’s office, this commission’s mission is to fight against trusts and preserve free competition. According to information relayed by the newspaper, the managers of these six ice cream brands have been consulting regularly, for years, on the amount and timing of price increases affecting their products.
These companies alone represent more than half of the ice cream market in the archipelago. Their products are omnipresent in the daily lives of the Japanese. You can easily find them on the shelves of konbini, the famous Japanese convenience stores.
The prices of these ice creams have increased by a maximum of 18% since 2022, notes the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Increases systematically justified by inflation or by the lack of labor, recalls the website of the television channel KTV. “Fair Trading Commission suspects […] these companies for inflating their profits… by taking advantage of inflation in food prices, specifies the public channel NHK.
A growing market
This news can only infuriate other companies in the sector. “Between gasoline and salaries, costs are increasing everywhere. For consumers, we do our best to maintain the prices of our products. This cartel story is simply unacceptable… protests Mitsue Kubota, head of an ice cream company, cited by KTV.
Aware of the Japanese’s frustration with inflation, the government is particularly sensitive to the prices of everyday products. “In recent years, the Fair Trade Commission has made the fight against cartels one of its priorities… note it Nihon Keizai Shimbun. If the accusation is confirmed, the companies concerned will have to put an end to the fraudulent acts and pay a fine corresponding to the profits made thanks to their agreement.
Due to climate change, summers in Japan are getting hotter and hotter. The ice cream market is booming. In 2025, it represented 660 billion yen (3.5 billion euros), an increase of 40% compared to 2015, reports his side l’Asahi Shimbun.
