2003 JAPAN LAW: CONSUMER CONTRACTS
Keywords: Contracts, Consumers, Schools, Class Action, Consumer Protection
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman
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The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has decided that it will be expanding the protection of the Law Regulating Specific Business Practices enacted in 1999 and covering schools such as foreign language schools, cram schools and tutors. The ministry plans to expand the protection of the law to personal computer schools, marriage ceremony services and the providers of hair growth enhancers. Prior to that industry groups introduced measures of self-regulation. The marriage service firms agreed to permit consumer to cancel their contracts even after signing. The computer schools agreed to improve their services and the hair growth enhancers said they would revise their advertising to avoid misleading customers. As was the case with the first group, being businesses added to the list of covered businesses, consumers will be permitted to cancel contracts after a cooling-off period of 8 days. Even after 8 days they may be able to obtain a partial refund. After such cancellations, consumers will be able to refuse payment of contracts with credit firms financing the services. The service contracts must be at least two months long before they are covered by the law.

The Ministry has also announced plans to make the largest change to consumer protection laws in 35 years by permitting consumer groups to file cases on behalf of consumers to enhance consumer information and stop companies from utilizing misleading marketing practices but does not appear to support seeking damages.