On 1 April 2011 the Government of Japan announced new rules for the initiation of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Previously, before launching an investigation against foreign imports, the Government of Japan would determine the extent of support for such an investigation among the relevant import-competing Japanese industry. In the past, those Japanese producers who did not express an opinion in favour of an investigation were considered to oppose the investigation. From now on only those Japanese producers that explicitly oppose an investigation will count in the determination of whether the local complainants have sufficient standing. The associated press release states that "This amendment is expected to provide wider opportunities for domestic producers who were unable to utilize anti-dumping measures and countervailing measures under the former stricter requirements."