"We'd like direct marketers to force established Japanese companies to cut premiums, " says Makoto Kurita, an official with Japan's Fair Trade Commission.

FORBES: Here come the gaijin

In March it agreed to a ruling by Japan's fair trade commission to settle a dispute over anticompetitive sales practices. (Intel denies any unlawful conduct.) The European Union and the Korean Fair Trade Commission are now investigating Intel on similar charges.

FORBES: Chips and Guacamole