TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's fair trade watchdog said on Thursday Nissan Motor had violated the subcontractor act by underpaying dozens of suppliers by a total of about 3 billion yen ($20.26 million).

The Japan Fair Trade Commission, which local media reported this week was looking into Nissan's ( NSANF ) conduct, said the automaker had unlawfully deducted the amount from 36 suppliers over a period of around two years starting from January 2021.

It also called on Nissan ( NSANF ) to set up a management system for dealing with subcontractor payments, and for the board of directors to pass a resolution to recognise the issue and prevent it from happening again.

Nissan ( NSANF ), Japan's third-largest automaker by volume, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said it had already fully refunded suppliers for money that it had unilaterally deducted.

Japan's Subcontractor Law prohibits the ordering party from unilaterally reducing the payment when the subcontractor is not at fault.

($1 = 148.0900 yen)