The Fair Trade Commission launched raids on offices in Tokyo and Tsukuba, northeast of the capital, and several other locations linked to the US giant, a commission official said.

The commission is also contacting customer companies of Intel, such as major personal computer makers, in search of evidence, he said.

The Japanese unit is "suspected of having unfairly appealed to client companies not to use products of rival computer parts makers," he said.

SPACE.WIRE