Alphabet's Google proposed on Friday a loosening of its agreements with Apple and others to set Google as the default search engine on new devices, in a bid to address a U.S. ruling that it unlawfully dominates online search.

The anticipated ruling, Nikkei reported, comes months after a US court found Google’s search business was an illegal monopoly.

Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) unit Google is preparing to answer allegations from Japan's Fair Trade Commission that the company engaged in anticompetitive practices such as forcing smartphone manufacturers to give priority to Google Search in default screen placement,

Japan's competition watchdog is expected to find Google guilty of violating the country's antitrust law, Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday, citing sources.