Japan¡¯s Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted on-site inspections over alleged bid-rigging for a project to lay tracks for a planned extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen bullet train line, according to informed sources.

The probes targeted nine construction companies and the government-linked Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), which placed the order for the project, the sources said.

The nine firms are: Senken Kogyo, Meiko Construction, Totetsu Kogyo, Hokkaido Kido Shisetsu Kogyo (an affiliate of JR Hokkaido), Union Construction (a group company of JR East), Daitetsu Kogyo and Kosei (both affiliated with JR West), and Sankikensetsu and Kyutetsu (both group firms of JR Kyushu). Totetsu Kogyo is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange¡¯s top-tier Prime section.

The companies are suspected of conspiring in advance to pick firms undertaking track-laying work for the bullet train line extension between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Sapporo stations in Hokkaido, the sources said.

The 212-kilometer section is divided into 10 parts, and the preselected companies won the bids for five of the sections, including one secured by Meiko for ?4.34 billion ($27.3 million) in October last year. The nine companies have reached an agreement over who would win the bids for the other five parts, according to the sources.

If the FTC finds any JRTT involvement in the alleged bid-rigging, it may consider demanding that the agency take improvement measures based on the law against bid-rigging led by public-sector organizations.

JRTT and the nine firms said that they will fully cooperate in the FTC¡¯s investigations.

The Hokkaido Shinkansen line went into service between Shin-Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station on March 26, 2016.

In March 2025, the transport ministry released a report from an expert panel saying that the extended section of the Shinkansen line is expected to open at the end of March 2039.