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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The building that houses the Japan Fair Trade Commission and the Public Prosecutors Office is seen in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, in February 2022.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
13:53 JST, February 13, 2025
The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is set to determine that a wholly owned subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co. committed a legal violation by forcing its subcontractors to store its molds for car components without charge, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. The antitrust watchdog is expected to urge the firm to prevent a recurrence.
Nagoya-based auto parts maker Aichi Machine Industry Co. will likely be found to have violated the Subcontracting Law that prohibits requesting subcontractors to provide money or labor. At least five subcontractors had to keep the molds, with some of them doing so for over a decade.
Aichi Machine is a major company of the Nissan group and is chaired by a Nissan vice president. It manufactures and develops engines and transmissions for automobiles, supplying its products to Nissan and other companies.
According to sources, Aichi Machine had the five subcontractors store about 400 of its molds and other tools that are used to make components such as engine parts at no charge for periods of at least between the summer of 2023 and the end of 2024, although the firm had no plans to place any relevant orders.
The longest storage period apparently exceeded 10 years. After the JFTC investigation, Aichi Machine is said to have refunded about ¥20 million in total to the subcontractors for storage fees.
In the auto and other manufacturing industries, subcontractors often need the permission of a major company to get rid of molds. The JFTC deemed that the practice of having molds stored for free violates the law.
In July, the JFTC issued a recommendation in a similar case in which a Toyota Motor Corp. subsidiary had had molds stored for free.
In March, Nissan was found to have violated the same law by unilaterally reducing purchase prices for auto parts from subcontracted suppliers. The automaker refunded ¥3 billion of the illegal reduction amount and also announced preventive measures, such as setting up a contact point where business partners can report violations anonymously.
Nissan told The Yomiuri Shimbun, “We have heard that it is currently under investigation,” while Aichi Machine said, “We will refrain from commenting as it is under investigation.”
