Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 665 | Classification | MEXT-(3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | June 17, 2003 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Cabinet Office |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) | Related Laws | |
| Complainant | Domestic firm | Exporting Countries | France |
| Subject | Review of judgment and rules concerning authorizing balls by the Federation Japonaise de Petanque (FJP) | ||
| Description of Complaint | 1. According to the petanque rules handbook published by the Federation Japonaise de Petanque (FJP), "There are two kinds of petanque balls; one for competition and the other for leisure. Balls for competition have to be the ones authorized by either the International Federation of Petanque or the FJP. Balls that can be used in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations have to be the ones authorized by the FJP." The Federation Japonaise de Petanque states that balls that are authorized by the International Federation of Petanque but not by the FJP cannot be used in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations. In order to use such balls in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations, one has to have a card authorizing the balls issued by the FJP and the user of the balls has to pay 5,000 yen per set of balls (three balls) to the FJP. 2. The complainant is an importer of the balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque from France. If a consumer who purchased balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque from the complainant wants to use the balls in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations, he/she has to pay 5,000 yen per set of balls (three balls) to the FJP, as was described above. Even when a consumer purchased balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque directly, he/she cannot use the balls in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations. If he/she wants to do so, he/she has to go through the same procedure. The FJP's rules discourage consumers to purchase balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque and they constitute a barrier to exports to Japan. 3. The Federation Japonaise de Petanque should revise the rules so that balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque can be treated as authorized balls without the authorization by the FJP and so that the users of such balls can take part in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organization without paying 5,000 yen. Such rule changes should be publicized by the FJP to the best of its ability. Also, please respond to the following questions; (1) Why doesn't the Federation Japonaise de Petanque approve the use of balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations? (2) What tests and steps does the Federation Japonaise de Petanque take to determine that balls are authorized by the Federation Japonaise de Petanque? (3) Why do consumers have to pay 5,000 yen to the Federation Japonaise de Petanque to use balls authorized by the International Federation of Petanque in a domestic competition sponsored by the FJP or its affiliated organizations? |
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| Details of Measures | As for review of judgment and rules concerning balls authorized by the Federation Japonaise de Petanque, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology cannot provide any sort of guidance since the Federation Japonaise de Petanque is not a public-interest corporation under the jurisdiction of the ministry. Meanwhile, the ministry communicated the content of the complaint in question to the Federation Japonaise de Petanque, and then received a reply that if the firm in question organizes an opportunity to discuss the issue of authorized balls in the future, the Federation Japonaise de Petanque will discuss it together at any time. |
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| Classification of Processing | Processed (July 3, 2003) |
Directions | II-b IV |
| Remarks | A written reply was made on June 30, 2003. | ||