Microsoft Probed by Japan Commission

[LiviaOlivia]

February 26, 2004
By REUTERS
Filed at 4:10 a.m. ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's Japan unit is being investigated by the country's Fair Trade Commission on suspicion of violating anti-trust laws, at a time the U.S. software giant faces similar accusations in Europe.

The commission said Thursday that it believed Microsoft, the world's largest maker of computer software, imposed unfair conditions on computer manufacturers wanting to license its Windows XP operating system software.

It said it hoped to resolve the matter as soon as possible. A spokeswoman for the unit, Microsoft Co. Ltd., confirmed that representatives of the fair-trade body were at its headquarters Thursday but said she had no further details.

A spokesman for NEC Corp, Japan's largest computer maker, also said commission representatives had visited its offices to ask questions about its dealings with Microsoft.


http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-tech-japan-microsoft.html