Antitrust authorities in the Group of Seven nations met in Tokyo this week.

"Big tech companies are expanding their activities across market,

which could raise concerns regarding lack of competition."

The group adopted a statement calling for coordinated efforts to regulate big tech companies.

Authorities are already taking action in their own jurisdictions.

The European Union has a sweeping new act on internet platforms that comes into full force in March.

The rules may allow iPhone users to download apps from rivals' stores.

They could also require Meta Platforms to obtain customer permission,

before combining data from Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The EU says it wants to give consumers more choice and encourage smaller innovators to enter the market.

Late last month, Japan's competition watchdog said it's investigating Google for a possible violation of the antimonopoly law.

The commission suspects the internet giant has pressured smartphone makers to load its Chrome search engine on their devices.

"We'll examine the case from the viewpoint that free and fair competition should not be hindered."

The US is home to many tech giants.

Authorities there have launched one of the largest antitrust cases into their business practices.

In September, the US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Amazon.

It alleges the firm uses its dominant position to shut out competition,

saying that harms both consumers and other online retailers.

It's a high-profile court battle as the FTC is now led by Lina Khan.

She's a longtime critic of large techs like Amazon, and is often called the most feared person in Silicon Valley.

Khan spoke about the case earlier this month.

"In a competitive market, a monopoly that hiked prices and degraded services

would create an opening for rivals to come in, draw business, grow and compete.

But our lawsuit alleges that Amazon's unlawful monopolistic strategy closed off that possibility, with the public paying as a result.

But a legal expert says the FTC faces hurdles in trying to show consumers would be better off in a world without Amazon.

"There is something highly patronistic or highly condescending in the claim that the FTC,

a few bureaucrats decide, tell us that with it we are victims.

The gist of the argument is that convenience and low prices are wrong,

and that will conflict with the public sentiments, I think.

We like low prices and convenience."

Any abuse of power by tech giants needs to be reined in,

as they're prone to become even more influential with the rise of new technology, such as artificial intelligence.

But regulators will have to strike a balance between protecting consumers and promoting innovation in today's digital economy.

Employees of this restaurant operator in Tokyo start their workday by singing their company anthem.

It's a startup firm with 9 branches.

The average age of its employees is 30.

"This motivates us to work hard as we begin each day."

"I listen to the song to get myself ready for the task ahead."

The song was a response to the pandemic, when a plunge in customer traffic forced two outlets to shut.

It was the staff that came up with the lyrics.

"Keep the torch of hope burning,

No matter how painful and sad things get."

This employee was managing of one of the branches that closed.

"Even if I feel down, I'm able to move forward

when I think back and recall how difficult it was for us during the pandemic days."

"When we were gathering ideas for the lyrics,

I realized everyone had similar sentiments during the pandemic.

I think we found a sense of unity."

Around the 1970s, singing the corporate anthem was a daily ritual for many Japanese companies.

It was thought to increase productivity and encourage camaraderie.

"I think people are realizing that the sense of community has weakened due to the pandemic,

and are rediscovering the purpose of corporate anthems."

Company outings are making a comeback, too.

In late October, this restaurant chain, with over 2,000 branches nationwide, held a sports day.

It was a chance for employees who do not normally interact to meet.

Shimanuki Riho started working at the company during the pandemic.

She's a recruiter for the firm.

But even in her job, she feels a lack of connection with her coworkers.

"There are so many employees I've never talked to because I don't have the opportunity.

I feel a bit frustrated."

About 270 employees and family members turned out for the event.

Shimanuki ran in a relay race.

"It's nice to meet you.

Let's try not to hurt ourselves."

Most of the team members were meeting for the first time.

But they came together on the playing field.

Shimanuki made over 20 new acquaintances.

"I think I realized the joy of working by connecting with my colleagues.

The event boosted my energy for the future."

AI-powered software that optimizes produce sales at farmers' markets.

And a vegetable delivery service, that both reduces distribution costs, and expands sales channels for farmers.

Today's On-Site Report features businesses that are helping Japanese farmers to increase profits.

Farmers' markets are known for offering freshly harvested produce at reasonable prices.

They allow farmers to set their own prices, and choose the amount of produce they want to offer each day.

However, this can often result in two problems:

The first is unsold produce.

At the end of the day, prices must be slashed to sell the remaining products,

or farmers must collect their unsold fruits and vegetables.

The other problem is selling out too quickly.

"If you don't come in the morning, most of the good vegetables will be sold out!"

When produce sells out early, both farmers and the market owners miss out on sales opportunities.

One major IT company has created a service to solve this problem.

In April of this year, it launched a unique software-based service for farmers, that makes use of predictive AI.

"Farmers already have their hands full with growing fruits and vegetables.

We thought we might be able to lessen the burden on them, and help them improve their sales figures,

by simplifying the forecasting process with our data analysis capabilities."

The software analyzes a range of data, including when and at what time different types of produce were sold,

and other factors such as weekday versus holiday sales figures, and even weather conditions.

It then uses current data, including the weather forecast,

to provide farmers with a two-week daily breakdown of how much of each type of produce they can expect to sell and at what price.

Farmer Kuninaka Hideki recently began using the software.

He first took up farming ten years ago, after quitting his day job, and now specializes in growing cherry tomatoes.

Although he's been selling his produce through farmers markets for quite a while,

he often struggled when deciding how much to ship.

"I tried using numbers, but it was mostly based on my gut feeling.

I would take notes from sales reports I received from different locations,

and try and use that information combined with my own intuition to decide how much product to send out.

But more often than not, I would be way off!"

Kuninaka now finds the process much simpler with the easy-to-use software.

Today, for example, it suggests a shipment of 11 bags for shop A, 29 bags for shop B, and 16 bags for shop C.

It recommends he sell his tomatoes at a price of 268 yen per bag.

This is the price the AI determined he should select, in order to ensure selling every bag he ships.

"The figures it gives me are usually so accurate,

it's helped to maximize sales opportunities while minimizing waste; so the results have been quite impressive!"

The AI software is also proving to be beneficial to market management.

By graphing the times when each farmer sells out of a product,

the market can then make sure that farmers are bringing enough produce,

to guarantee that the shelves remain stocked throughout the day, without resulting in too much excess.

"When the farmers know the right amount of product to send,

we can ensure that all our customers have access to the different types of produce they want."

The service is currently being used at only four locations,

but the IT company behind it is already looking to increase its adoption.

"Our initial goal is to have our product in use by at least 100 farmers markets by 2025.

We want to create a useful system, that is mutually beneficial for the farmers and the locations they sell through.

This truck is picking up a unique load of cargo from this farmer's warehouse.

The driver is collecting a variety of produce shipments, that have been dropped off here by several different local farmers.

"Rather than driving it myself to some far-off client,

now I can just drop it off at a convenient location, and have the delivery truck come and get it."

The truck is part of a shared delivery service.

Much like a transit bus, it follows a set course, and makes regular stops at set times,

to pick up produce deliveries from multiple local farmers.

Registered buyers, such retail stores and restaurants, use the delivery service's webpage to place orders,

which are then sent directly to participating farmers.

When an order comes in, all the farmer needs to do is take the desired fruits and vegetables to a nearby pickup location.

The delivery truck handles the rest, and provides a convenient and efficient way to connect local farmers with local clientele.

The delivery service was created by Vegibus CEO, Kato Yuriko.

"Distribution costs can get extremely high, especially when farmers need to send small orders to different clients.

That's why we created a Business-to-Business matching service, to connect clients who want to make bulk orders with local farmers."

This is lettuce farmer Shimada Masanari.

He's seen a significant increase in orders from new customers, since registering with the service.

Today, he received eight orders for a total of 170 bags of lettuce,

from a variety of customers, including retail stores and even a hotel.

After quickly picking and bagging the lettuce, he heads off to the pickup point with the orders.

"For a small operation like mine, delivering orders to eight different locations would normally take more than half a day.

Now, we only have to take them to one location, which isn't just convenient,

it saves us a lot of time, so I really appreciate this service."

Because participating farmers don't have to go through wholesale retailers,

they can set their own prices, and ensure a more stable income.

"Since I've started using the service, our sales figures have almost doubled.

I couldn't be happier!"

Clients, such as supermarkets and local restaurants, also benefit from the service.

"Here is your lettuce."

"Thank you!"

"We love this service! We get high quality local products at low prices, and no longer have to send out staff to buy produce!"

"Since our service interacts regularly with both the buyers and the growers,

we can get feedback on how we can improve our service, as well as what might help the farmers to increase their sales.

It's really a unique system that connects and strengthens our local economy."