The search deal signed between Yahoo Japan and Google has been given approval by Japan's Fair Trade Commission.
The deal, signed in July 2010, was quite a surprise for Microsoft, which had expected Yahoo to sign a search deal with it instead. Yahoo had chosen Google as partner because it perceived its search technology as superior to Microsoft's, but announced at the time that the arrangement "does not impact the global rollout and implementation of the Yahoo! search alliance with Microsoft, except in the Japanese market.”
With the move, Yahoo Japan and Google had effectively cornered the Japanese search market, causing concern with Japan's anti-monopoly watchdog, which launched an investigation into the deal.