Japan's fair trade watchdog filed criminal complaints against 18 companies, including Nippon Steel Corp, on Wednesday in connection with a wide-ranging scandal over bid-rigging on government bridge contracts. The complaints, lodged with the Tokyo prosecutor's office, follow earlier charges against eight other companies filed on May 23.
"The 26 companies, against the public interest, co-ordinated talks to allocate bridge contracts and restricted competition," the government's Fair Trade Commission said in a statement.
Other companies cited by the FTC on Wednesday included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co and Hitachi Zosen Corp.
Media reports said prosecutors indicted the 26 companies and eight of their employees, but these reports could not immediately be confirmed.
Last month the FTC filed complaints against Yokogawa Bridge Corp, JFE Engineering, a core unit of JFE Holdings Inc, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co and five other companies.
The complaints follow a months-long investigation by the FTC and raids last month by prosecutors on more than 40 companies thought to be involved in a cartel that rigged contracts on steel bridges for more than four decades.
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