The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) carried out on‑site inspections of six major ice‑cream manufacturers on Tuesday, alleging they colluded to fix prices.
The companies under scrutiny were Meiji, Morinaga Milk Industry, Lotte, Morinaga Foods, Ezaki Glico and Akagi Nyūgyō. The firms reportedly raised prices by 5‑10 % multiple times over several years, well above raw‑material cost increases.
Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores receive the products wholesale, so the price hikes affect millions of consumers during an unusually hot summer, with record highs of 40 °C (104 °F) earlier this year.
The companies have issued statements promising full cooperation with the investigation. Meiji, Glico and Morinaga said they would “co‑operate fully with the Fair Trade Commission,” while Hello Panda (Glico) pledged a “good‑faith response.”
No official statement from the JFTC has yet been released, and the investigation is ongoing.
Additional reporting by Chika Nakayama in Tokyo.
