The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) on Tuesday raided the Tokyo-based JR Central and its affiliates including JR Central Consultants, along with engineering firms Dainichi Consultant, Tonichi Engineering Consultants, and Japan Transportation Consultants for allegedly pre-arranging winning bids on inspection projects.
The investigation centers on land bridge inspection contracts across 10 JR Central railway lines where the companies allegedly coordinated their bids to predetermine winners.
While JR Central did not directly participate in the bidding process, investigators believe the rail operator played a key role in orchestrating the bid allocation among the contractors.
The probe comes amid stricter infrastructure safety regulations implemented in fiscal 2014, which mandate thorough inspections of bridges and tunnels every five years, following a fatal tunnel collapse incident on 2012 in the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture.
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