Issue 136, July 2023

Preface

• Considering Digital in Consumer Month

Special Feature 1, Family Victims of Pyramid Schemes

• Family Victims of Multilevel Marketing Schemes, From the Perspective of the Personal History of the Second Generation of Multilevel Marketers
• Voices of victims
• Remedies for Family Victims of Multilevel Marketing Schemes
• Counselling for victims of investment fraud
• The Present Situation and Issues of Consumer Affairs Counselling from Family Members of Multilevel Marketing Members
• The Concept of Legislative Improvement against Pyramid Schemes
• What the Families of Victims Demand from the State. Focusing on the Public Comment Opinion of the Association for the Elimination of Multilevel Marketing Damage

Special Feature 3, Religious damage today

• The Unification Church and the local elections
• Supreme Court orderd a redetermination of the first hearing in the Osaka Ossuary management permission revocation proceedings 
• Amendment of the law at the 2022 Provisional Diet session to prevent damage from psychic sales methods
• Characteristics and Issues of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” Problem 

Topic

• How to live with the last chance to restore biodiversity

White Paper on Consumer Law in 2023

• Chapter 1, Consumer credit (finance)
• Chapter 2, Credit, Leasing and Payment Instruments
• Chapter 3, Specified Commercial Transactions
• Chapter 4, Consumer Contract Act
• Chapter 5, Securities
• Chapter 6, Insurance
• Chapter 7, Futures Trading and Fraudulent Profiteering Business
• Chapter 8, Defective products
• Chapter 9, Defective housing
• Chapter 10, Antimonopoly Law and Law against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations
• Chapter 11, Religion
• Chapter 12, Electronic Commerce
• Chapter 13, Welfare and public assistance
• Chapter 14, Others

Series 1, Consumer legislation, Consumer Affairs Agency, Consumer Commission, National Consumer Affairs Centre, Legislative proposals

• Consumer Commission Initiatives
• Report of the Consumer Commission (March to May 2023)
• Verification, Evaluation and Monitoring of the Basic Plan for Consumers at the Seventh Consumer Affairs Commission
• Major Issues of the National Consumer Affairs Centre in 2023
• Current status of the campaign to revise the Special Commercial Code
• Cross-cutting administrative rules on consumer transactions, “Provisions for the protection of consumers in vulnerable situations”
• «Resources» Act for Partial Amendment of the Consumer Contract Act and the Act on the Independent Administrative Institution National Consumer Affairs Centre, Chairman’s Statement on the enactment of the Act on Prevention of Unreasonable Solicitation of Donations by Legal Entities
• Report on the activities of the Consumer Affairs Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations in FY 2022 and future initiatives
• Activity Report of the Kanto Federation of Bar Associations Consumer Affairs Task Force Committee in FY2022

Series 2, ‘Salaries workers loan’ (Loan shark), commercial loans

• Official Gazette digitisation and the ‘New Bankruptcy Map’ issue
• For Strengthening Japan’s Democratic Movement (35)-Exposing State Power (2)

Series 3, Anti-Poverty/Rehabilitation

• Landmark decision to boost post-secondary schooling support for welfare households and young people, Kumamoto District Court decision of 3 October 2022, Wages and Social Security No. 1819, p. 42, full text on the web
• The Osaka High Court’s unjust decision is appalling, Rejecting price disguises (No. 16)

Series 4, The Great East Japan Earthquake / Radiation and Future of Japan

• On the return to nuclear power
• Voices from Nisei A-bomb survivors, The Hibakusha Relief Law should be applied to Nisei A-bomb survivors
• The struggle of the Nisei A-bomb survivors for ‘nuclear abolition’

Series 5, Special Commercial Law, Deposit Insurance Law and Credit (Discount Sales)

• Subscription purchases not decreasing even after legal reform
• Urgent need to review the system, Door-to-door sales consumer redress fund (Japan Direct Selling Association and Japan Life case)
• Over-selling of kimono that still remains today

Series 6, Consumer contract law and malicious commercial practices

• Two amendments to the Consumer Contract Law in 2022 and issues
• Future of the revision of the Consumer Contract Act
• Damage recovery lawsuit filed against event operator “Starry Night Company Ltd.” seeking refund of ticket price for cancelled event based on default of obligation
• Major Achievements and Challenges from the Activities of the Consumers’ Organisation of Japan
• Report at the 2022 National Consumer Forum
• Judgment dated 25 July 2022 of the Himeji Branch of the Kobe District Court on the issue of pyramid schemes that do not involve commodity trading
• The Suruga Bank, “Share House Kabocha no Basha” Case
• Non-agency alliance, bogus advertisements and the issue of long-term instalment repayment of debts

Series 7, Civil code and other laws

• Lowering of the Age of Adulthood and Consumer Troubles of Young People, One Year after the Lowering of the Age of Adulthood
• Response to the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations and Issues under the Act on Special Commercial Transactions in light of the rapid increase in damage caused by subscription purchases after the revision of the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions
• Current Status and Issues of Payment and Settlement Legislation

Series 8, Banking, Securities, Insurance and Futures

• Decision dated 16 March 2023 of the Tokyo High Court, which focused on the nature and riskiness of both types of transactions and found them illegal for breach of duty to explain, excessive trading and breach of duty to provide guidance and advice
• Tokyo High Court judgment in the Yutaka Trusty Securities case
• Judicial decisions obtained during 2022 in cases handled by our lawyers that may be of value as references
• The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission’s measures against unregistered firms, etc.
• Report on the implementation of the National Simultaneous Hotline Report on Investment Damage
• Publication of “Research on Damage Caused by Futures and Securities Transactions”

Series 9, Product Liability

• Towards the Revision of the Product Liability Law: Activities of the PL Ombuds Conference of the National Federation of Trade Unions’ Specialist Committee

Series 10, Defective housing

• Basics of Defective Housing Disputes (62), Proving Defective Housing (3)

Series 11, E-commerce

• Transaction Digital Platform Consumer Protection Law after its Enforcement
• Movements towards the enforcement of the revised Telecommunications Business Law (external transmission discipline)
• Information on the Study Group on Electronic Commerce Issues

Series 12, Pet and animal law

• Kyoto Yawata Case’, Civil trials concerning pet consignment and abandonment, legal issues in Supreme Court and lower court decisions
• Defeated decision of the Hyogo Prefectural Animal Protection Centre on ‘same-day killing’ and ‘filaria killing’ and notice of dysfunction of legal trials

Series 13, Collapse of the Judiciary

• The Necessity of Preserving Court Records and the Supreme Court’s Disposal of Records

Series 14, Cases, precedents and discussions on life

• Opposition to the “Osaka Casino Authorisation”

Scholars’ Eye.

• On the Use of the Right of Cancellation of Confusion
• Finances supporting Sweden’s high welfare and high burden

Counselor’s eyes/activities

• Cancellation of high charges can only be done if you try
• Aren’t you concerned about that ‘advertisement’?, from the telephone consultation 110 in 2022
• Report on the Current Status of the Consumer Consultation Office and Problems with Online Shopping Troubles
• Report on the implementation of the ‘Net Transaction/Digipla Nandemo 110’ in FY2022, including app stores, flea market apps, online shopping, SNS, travel and restaurant reservations, delivery, etc. 186
• Review of the activities of the Hokuriku Branch of the National Association of Consumer Affairs Consultants 188
• Notice on the dissolution of the Non-Profit Organisation Consumer Information Net (abbreviated name KONET) 190

Q and A

• SIM swap fraud tactics and countermeasures

Precedents and Settlement Bulletin

• No. 2572-2587

Introduction of Important Precedents

National Consumer Affairs Center Information

• Trouble cases in consumer affairs consultation (51)

Bibliography

• Practical Guide: Related Laws and Solutions to Consumer Issues

And more

• Database of judicial precedents
• Newspaper information