The Fair Trade Commission plans to issue an administrative order against Usen Corp. and its agent, Nippon Network Vision Corp., probably next week to halt their alleged unfair price-cutting practice, sources said Friday.
They said the administrative order, formally known as a "recommendation," would replace an emergency order the commission had asked the Tokyo High Court to issue over the matter.
The sources said Usen, the largest cable broadcaster in Japan, and Nippon Network Vision are expected to accept the FTC demand without a court order.
FTC investigators searched the offices of the two companies in May over allegations that they offered unfair price discounts on their services to clients of rival Cansystem Co. to monopolize the cable broadcasting market.
In late June, the FTC requested the emergency court order that would prohibit Usen and Nippon Network Vision from offering a discount of more than 1,000 yen from a monthly broadcasting service fee of 4,500 yen or a fee-free period of more than three months to new clients.