The Japan Fair Trade Commission's Hokkaido office will send staff to Asahikawa Commercial High School on Tuesday 13 October 2026 to teach third-year students in the distribution business course. The session runs from 13:25 to 14:15, and its theme is "learning the premiums-and-representations law and the Antimonopoly Act through quizzes".
What the class involves
The lesson is part of the commission's "Antimonopoly Act classroom" programme, in which experienced staff visit schools to explain what competition law does, how a market economy works and why competition matters. Lesson content is set after asking the school what it wants.
The release describes the programme's usual format. Students play company managers who devise sales methods to win customers from rivals, with live product demonstrations. Other students act as consumers and experience why free choice among many cheap, good products matters. Some play investigators in a mock on-site inspection and mock questioning. The release also says staff present everyday cases of violations such as cartels.
Press access
The commission says cameras and observation by reporters are permitted during the lesson. Anyone who wants to attend must contact the Hokkaido office's general affairs section by noon on Friday 9 October.
How often the programme runs
The release includes national counts of sessions held in recent years. The figures for the year to March 2026 are lower than the year before for middle schools, high schools and universities and other institutions. High school sessions rose from 29 to 46 over the first three years listed before dropping to 39. The release does not give a reason for the latest decline.
| Level | Year to March 2023 | Year to March 2024 | Year to March 2025 | Year to March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle schools | 51 | 54 | 50 | 42 |
| High schools | 29 | 36 | 46 | 39 |
| Universities and others | 140 | 143 | 143 | 123 |