Japan Fair Trade Commission Raids Microsoft Japan Over Cloud Practices

Japan’s antitrust regulator conducted an on-site inspection of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Japan on Wednesday as part of an investigation into suspected violations of the country’s Antimonopoly Act tied to its cloud services.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, the Japan Fair Trade Commission is examining whether Microsoft Japan imposed conditions that restricted customers of its Azure platform from using competing cloud providers. The source requested anonymity because the investigation has not been publicly detailed. The JFTC declined to comment. A spokesperson for Microsoft Japan said the company is “fully cooperating with the JFTC in their requests.”

The probe is focused on whether Microsoft Japan set terms that made it difficult to use its software on non-Azure cloud platforms or resulted in higher costs for customers choosing alternative services. The source said regulators are also expected to seek clarification from Microsoft’s parent company in the United States.

Azure competes globally with cloud platforms operated by Amazon and Google. The inquiry comes as competition authorities in multiple jurisdictions review practices in the cloud computing sector.

In November 2025, the European Union opened an investigation into whether Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon Web Services should be designated under the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission said at the time that the companies “occupy very strong positions” and that it would assess whether they function as important gateways between businesses and consumers. The Commission also said it would evaluate whether existing rules are effective in addressing practices that may limit competition in the cloud market.

The EU’s scrutiny followed several service disruptions in October 2025. An outage at Amazon’s cloud unit lasted about 15 hours and affected hundreds of companies, including Apple, McDonald’s and Epic Games. In the same month, issues affecting Microsoft’s Azure disrupted passenger check-ins for Alaska Airlines and interrupted voting activities in the Scottish Parliament. The European Commission said its investigation into AWS and Azure is expected to conclude within 12 months, with a final decision on the regulatory framework for the sector likely within 18 months.

Beyond Europe, regulators in Britain and the United States have also been reviewing cloud market practices. Last month, Brazil’s antitrust authority opened an administrative investigation into Microsoft’s local unit in connection with its cloud services.

The investigation in Japan centers on whether Microsoft leveraged widely used products such as Windows Server and Microsoft 365 to steer customers toward Azure by limiting access to those services on competing cloud platforms.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. The company develops software, hardware, and cloud-based services, including the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity tools, and the Azure cloud computing platform. Microsoft operates globally and serves businesses, governments, and consumers across multiple industries.

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and McDonalds as mentioned in the article.