DS Screen Suppliers Probed in Price-fix Scandal
Japanese electronics manufacturers Sharp and Hitachi, makers of the LCD screens used in the Nintendo DS, are under investigation for price-fixing, the Times Online reported today.
The headquarters of both companies were raided by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission yesterday in an effort to gather potential evidence of an illegal price-fixing arrangement.
Sharp, the original supplier of Nintendo DS screens, was joined by Hitachi when demand for the DS skyrocketed a year after the handheld's release.
While both companies confirmed the probe, neither issued any further comment on the investigation. The Japanese government recently enacted a "whistle-blower law" which grants legal immunity to the first company within a price-fixing cartel to come clean.
"Take note America. Protecting whistle blowers is how it's done in civilized nations."10 Comments
