談合

• Reading: だんごう
• Romaji: dangō
• Kanji breakdown: 談 (dan) — talk, discuss; 合 (gō) — combine, agree, match
• Pronunciation: /daŋɡoː/

Meaning

Bid-rigging; collusion; secret agreement among competitors to fix prices or determine a winner before a formal tender.

Originally a neutral term meaning consultation or discussion, 談合 has acquired a strongly negative connotation in modern Japanese, almost exclusively referring to illegal pre-arrangement of public tender outcomes. It is rampant in construction and public works sectors and carries criminal liability under Japan's Antimonopoly Act. The term 官製談合 refers specifically to collusion orchestrated by government officials.

Examples

1. 道路工事の入札で談合が行われていたことが発覚した。 It came to light that bid-rigging had been taking place in the tendering process for road construction.
2. 談合に関与した複数の建設会社が公正取引委員会から排除措置命令を受けた。 Multiple construction companies involved in bid-rigging received exclusionary orders from the Fair Trade Commission.
3. 官製談合の疑いで市の幹部職員が捜査を受けている。 A senior municipal official is under investigation on suspicion of government-orchestrated bid-rigging.

Usage Guide

Context: law, public procurement, corporate crime, journalism

Tone: negative

Origin & History

From 談 (dan) — talk, discuss, and 合 (gō) — combine, agree. The original meaning of mutual consultation has been almost entirely displaced by the illegal sense. First documented in bid-rigging contexts from the Meiji infrastructure boom.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Business and government