JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Yuhei Sakao, Ryota Saito and Shunsuke Ebihara, Miura & Partners
lates advertising and other representations to general consumers, understanding the amended AUPMR is particularly important for companies engaged in busi - ness-to-consumer activities. From the perspective of promoting voluntary efforts by businesses to rectify misleading representations and of strengthening deterrents against violations, the 2023 amendment introduced several changes, including an increase in surcharge amounts. Among these changes, one notable development has been the introduction of the commitment procedure. Introduction of the commitment procedure Under this procedure, businesses investigated for suspected misleading representations will not be sub - ject to corrective orders or surcharge payment orders if they: • submit a rectification measures plan; • obtain approval from the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA); and • implement the rectification measures specified in the plan. On 18 April 2024, the CAA published operational standards for the commitment procedure to ensure transparency and predictability. The operational standards provide that the CAA will determine wheth - er to apply the commitment procedure based on the need to promptly correct violations and the possibil - ity of more effective measures reflecting the violator’s proposals. The commitment procedure does not apply to businesses where: • the AUPMR has taken legal measures against the business within the past ten years; or • the business is deemed to have engaged in serious and malicious violations, such as knowingly mak - ing misleading representations without any basis from the outset. The standards further require that the rectification measures specified in the plan must be sufficient to rectify the violation and are expected to be effectively implemented. The commitment procedure provides an incentive for businesses to voluntarily implement rectification measures to avoid administrative sanc -
tions. On the other hand, if a business uses the com - mitment procedure, a public announcement will be made regarding the approval of the commitment plan, including an outline of the alleged violation and the name of the business. Accordingly, businesses must decide whether to use the commitment procedure after comprehensively considering the possibility of receiving an administra - tive sanction, the costs involved in the various pro - cesses of the procedure, and the reputational risks associated with public announcements. First approved case On 26 February 2025, the CAA approved the applica - tion of the commitment procedure under the amended AUPMR for the first time. The case involved a personal training business operator which, between September 2020 and July 2024, advertised on its website that membership fees would be discounted only if a con - sumer enrolled on the same day as a free trial session within the indicated period. In reality, however, the dis - count was also available after the indicated period, provided that enrolment took place on the same day as the free trial. The business submitted to the CAA a rectification measures plan including the following: • a board resolution not to repeat similar violations; • thorough notification to consumers regarding the violation; • implementation of measures to prevent recurrence of the violation and similar acts; • partial refund of membership fees to consumers who enrolled during the violation period; and • reporting to the CAA on the implementation status of the measures. The corrective plan approved by the CAA may serve as a reference for other businesses considering the use of the commitment procedure. For companies engaged in business-to-consumer transactions, mon - itoring developments in the application of the commit - ment procedure is likely to be beneficial in preparing responses to potential violations.
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