Japan's antitrust watchdog says US search giant Google abused its dominant position in online advertising in the country and must correct its behavior.
The charge relates to Google restricting the advertising practices of search-engine Yahoo Japan, which is now part of LY Corporation that runs the Line social media platform.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Monday said the search giant abused its position by inhibiting the use of its advertising technology for as long 7 years through 2022.
Google has already agreed with the FTC finding and submitted a plan a week ago to stop the restrictive practices and avoid any additional punishments.
Google has an overwhelming share in Japan for what is known as "keyword-targeted" online advertising. This allows the automatic display of ads based on keywords typed into a search engine.
The company has provided LY Corporation with technical assistance on the advertising method since 2010.
The move by Japan's FTC comes as US technology giants are facing tougher regulations on their operations from American and European authorities.
Japan is also stepping up its monitoring, including on-site inspections of local subsidiaries of the big tech companies.