Article 11 of the Constitution says, "The people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the fundamental human rights. These fundamental human rights guaranteed by this Constitution shall be conferred upon the people of this and future generations as eternal and inviolable rights." The principle of guaranteeing basic human rights is known to all Japanese who have received elementary school education.
But would it be too much to say that these fundamental rights are not protected when it comes to enforcement of the Antimonopoly Law? Although the situation may not be an outright violation of the Constitution, rules and practices indeed exist that are hardly acceptable constitutionally.
First of all, the Fair Trade Commission is not required to obtain a court-issued search warrant when it raids company offices in antimonopoly investigations. Article 35 of the Constitution says investigative authorities must obtain a warrant issued by a judicial officer in order to search houses or offices and seize documents or other materials. The rule governing raids by the FTC runs counter to this principle.