The Nikkei News reported that the Japan Fair Trade Commission believes Google is suspected of illegally requiring smart phone manufacturers to prioritize the pre-installation of the Google Search application, and plans to issue a removal order against Google for violating the Anti-Monopoly Act.

The Commission believes that Google has inappropriately hindered competition and has issued a notification of the disciplinary plan to the company, with a formal decision on discipline to be made after consulting opinions. In addition, Google is also suspected of signing profit-sharing contracts conditional upon not featuring competing applications.