(Asian Tech Press) Tech giants, Amazon, Google and Apple, are officially designated as targets of regulation by Japanese authorities on 1 April, 2021, according to a Japanese news release on an official website.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) designated three U.S. companies, Amazon Japan, Google and Apple, and two Japanese companies, Rakuten, Inc. and Yahoo Japan, as targets of a new law regulating IT giants.

The new law is named as the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms, which came into effect on February 1, 2021. The bill of the law was passed by Japanese Cabinet decision n of the in February last year.

The law obliges the above-mentioned companies to disclose contract terms and conditions, etc., and to strive for transparency in transactions with customer companies. Japanese-style regulations on IT giants has been officially launched.

In an announcement made on 26 January 2021, Japan’s METI planned to announce a designation of “specified digital platform providers” in the spring of 2021.

Now it announces tech giants Amazon Japan, Google and Apple, Rakuten, Inc. and Yahoo Japan as “specified digital platform providers”. It means that the companies mentioned above must submit annual reports to Japanese government (METI) on their own business practices.