Japan Ice Cream Price-Fixing Investigation Raids Major Companies

Japan's competition watchdog, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), has raided well-known ice cream manufacturers, including Meiji and Ezaki Glico, over allegations of forming a cartel to inflate prices. Reports indicate that these firms have raised prices of popular desserts several times by 5-10% annually, beyond the increase in raw material costs. The six companies inspected are Meiji, Morinaga Milk Industry, Lotte, Morinaga, Ezaki Glico, and Akagi Nyugyo. The investigation comes during a record summer, where Japan has faced high temperatures, further complicating the market dynamics for these products.