The government approved a bill Tuesday that would allow for flexible fines to be handed down to antitrust violators who come forward to confess to wrongdoing, depending on the degree of their cooperation with investigations.
The legislation, which the government aims to implement by the end of 2020 after gaining Diet approval, would give the country's antitrust watchdog more leeway in offering lenient treatment. The aim is to encourage companies to cooperate with its investigations into practices such as bid-rigging and forming cartels.
Under the bill, which would revise the antimonopoly law for the first time in six years, the government also plans to introduce an attorney-client privilege system under which companies can keep their communications with lawyers secret to make it easier for them to consult with legal experts.