The Tokyo District Court has fined two major contractors for taking part in bid-rigging in connection with construction work for the Tokyo-Osaka maglev train project.
Obayashi Corp. was ordered to pay ¥200 million and Shimizu Corp. was hit with a ¥180 million fine for violating the antimonopoly law. The court found that they had colluded with two other major contractors, Kajima Corp. and Taisei Corp.
Judge Takumi Suzuki, who presided over the case, said the companies "impeded fair and free competition for the national project" and that their "culture of bidder collusion is deep-rooted," citing the two companies' involvement in a 2005 subway project bid-rigging case.