Oct 23 (Japan Today) - Two major construction companies were Monday ordered to pay fines totalling 380 million yen for colluding to win contracts on the Japan's maglev project.
The state-of-the-art maglev -- magnetic levitation -- trains are scheduled to begin commercial service between Tokyo and Nagoya in central Japan in 2027, later extending to the western hub of Osaka.
The giant project, estimated to cost nine trillion yen in total, has seen a host of firms compete for contracts ranging from tunneling work to building stations.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission brought charges against four companies in March for suspected anti-trust violations, accusing them of sharing estimated costs for construction work.
On Monday, the Tokyo district court ordered one of those companies, Obayashi, to pay 200 million yen and a second, Shimizu, to pay 180 million yen. The case against the two other companies is still ongoing.
Presiding judge Takumi Suzuki said the collusion had "prevented fair and free competition", local media reported.
