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Unreasonable interference with business activities is a kind of unfair trade practice prohibited under Article 23 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act(“MRFTA”), and it is extremely difficult to distinguish between illegal and unreasonable interference by aggressive pro-competitive business practices that the Act should encourage. In particular, by giving dealers preferential treatments, the distinction between illegal and legal acts becomes ambiguous when a competitor interferes with the business operations.

The issue is the content and requirements of impeding fair trade under Article 23(1) of MRFTA. It is closely related to the regulatory scheme for unilateral actions under the MRFTA.

This article examines the legislative history of the prohibition of undue interference in business activities under the MRFTA and compares it with the relevant provisions of the Japanese Antimonopoly Act.

After, this paper discusses theories and court decisions on the elements of satisfying acts impeding fair trade. Based on these discussions, this paper analyzes policy grounds of the prohibition of unreasonable interference in business activities under the MRFTA and establishes criteria for determining the tendency to impede fair trade with respect to unreasonable interference in business activities.