Kodak Takes Fuji Dispute to Japanese Panel

Eastman Kodak Co. filed a complaint with the Japan Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday asking the agency to take enforcement action against its archrival, Fuji Photo Film Co., for allegedly blocking sales of Kodak film in Japan.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based photo company has been locked in a yearlong trade battle with Fuji over access to the Japanese film market.

The dispute came to a head June 13 when the U.S. filed three complaints with the World Trade Organization alleging that the Japanese government colluded with Fuji to block Kodak sales in Japan. Two days of talks between the U.S. and Japan in Geneva on July 7-9 failed to resolve the dispute. Further talks are planned.

Wednesday’s action by Kodak is separate from the WTO case and is part of a three-pronged assault announced by the U.S. in June.

As part of that effort, the U.S. government requested that Kodak file a complaint with the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the independent agency responsible for enforcing Japan’s anti-monopoly laws, asking it to take action against what it calls anti-competitive practices by Fuji in Japan’s photographic film and paper market.

“We don’t intend to reveal the contents of the complaint because it could undermine any investigation the JFTC could take,” Kodak spokesman Charlie Smith said.

Japan’s trade commission has been criticized in the past as being too partisan, an accusation that Kodak now says is moot because of efforts by the Japanese government to strengthen the agency’s enforcement capabilities.

The government recently appointed a new chairman of the commission in an effort to make the agency more credible with foreign companies that complain that decisions are unfair and biased toward Japanese companies.

Japan’s annual film and photographic paper market is valued at $2.8 billion. Kodak, the leading U.S. producer, estimates it has lost $5.6 billion in sales during the last two decades because of what it asserts are unfair trade practices in Japan.

Kodak has a 10% share of Japan’s consumer market, with sales last year of more than $1 billion. Fuji has about the same share of the U.S. market, while each company has a 70% share if its home market.

Kodak shares closed up $1.375 at $78.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.