While it seems like a far-fetched fantasy in the U.S. to see a pairing of Yahoo and Google, it is much closer to reality in Japan. According to a recent Associated Press report, the nation’s anti-monopoly watchdog has granted approval for a partnership between Yahoo Japan Corp., and Google, Inc.

This approval is not without watchful eyes, however. The commission warned that they will check on the two players from time to time to look for potential violations in their partnership.

Reports from the commission on Thursday indicated that no problems have been identified in their pairing, as long as the two companies continue to operate separately and offer very distinctive services.

According to Yahoo Japan, their plans include the launch of a search engine that relies on Google’s search and advertising technology. This launch is expected to take place before the end of the year.

The Fair Trade Commission was contacted by online shopping site Rakuten, Inc., which asked for an investigation. The company feared that this type of pairing could hinder competition and growth in the Japanese Internet.

At present, Yahoo Japan has more than 50 percent share of the Japanese Internet search services market; Google claims roughly 40 percent. These numbers are courtesy of the Japanese search firm Video Research Interactive, Inc.

While Yahoo currently reigns in Japan, Google dominates the lucrative Internet search market throughout the global economy. The company generates income by charging advertisers to display links along with search results.

In other Google news, Google Editions is set to launch before the end of the year. TechZone360 reported that this innovative platform will deliver a whole new market with hundreds of players and independent booksellers who will jump at the chance to sell Google e-books on their own websites and share in the revenue.

One company reeling from the policies in place by Google is AppNexus. The company announced that it has been cut off from the ad exchange. AppNexus is a real-time platform that offers purchasing and ad inventory from ad exchanges. The largest of AppNexus’ clients is Google and this blocking could send AppNexus clients into the arms of Google’s own platform.