Recent Economics at the Japanese Fair Trade Commission — Revision of the Business Combination Guidelines and Case Analysis - World Competition View Recent Economics at the Japanese Fair Trade Commission — Revision of the Business Combination Guidelines and Case Analysis by Koki Arai - World Competition Recent Economics at the Japanese Fair Trade Commission — Revision of the Business Combination Guidelines and Case Analysis Koki Arai 31 3

This article describes the revision of the business combination guidelines of Japan and activities of the mergers and acquisitions division of the Japanese Fair Trade Commission during 2006–2007 in detail. The revision of the guidelines is based on three factors: (i) international consistency; (ii) historical experiences; and (iii) economic theory, and these factors are effective and efficient for a rapidly changing and globalized market. The main contribution of this article includes a comparison with the US and EU merger guidelines on not only a set of specific standards, but also the ideas that the United States and European Union adopted or the reason why these standards were selected.

World Competition