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August 15, 2026
 

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CONSUMER AFFAIRS AGENCY

Hitoshi Kikawada, minister for consumer affairs and food safety, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 28, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ consumer agency certifies food banks for first time
The certification program was rolled out in response to concerns over risks such as food poisoning and the resale of donated food items.
A customer at a supermarket in Yokohama. Under a planned food-labeling revision, consumers will be able to scan QR codes on processed food packages to access detailed product information.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 17, 2026
Japan to introduce QR code food labels to improve readability
The adoption of digital technology for food labeling is part of a broader international trend.
An experiment on battery-related fires by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation shows a burnt handheld fan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 2, 2025
Japan works to raise safety awareness over lithium-ion battery fires
Fires linked to electric devices powered by lithium-ion batteries increased in Japan this year amid intense heat in the summer across the nation.
A portable charger containing a lithium-ion battery that overheated in an accident during a reenactment experiment in December at the Consumer Affairs Agency
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025
Consumer Affairs Agency warns of risks from battery-powered heated devices
Injury reports linked to lithium-ion battery-powered heating gear have surged over the last 10 years.
Last year, cashews were responsible for 279 of 6,033 allergy cases, or 4.6%, making them the seventh most common allergenic food.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 11, 2024
Japan weighs mandatory allergen labeling for cashew nuts
Cashews nuts caused 37 cases of severe anaphylactic shock last year, making them the fifth most common trigger.
The Consumer Affairs Agency is advising people to ignore unfamiliar payment requests over the phone, even if a major company is named.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2024
Beware of overseas number phone scams, Â鶹´«Ã½ consumer watchdog warns
Scammers claiming to be telecommunications company NTT demanding ¡°unpaid fees¡± have duped victims into making substantial payments amounting to millions of yen.
The number of consultations made by consumers regarding troubles on social media marked a record high in 2023, with people in their 50s or older particularly vulnerable.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024
Japan sees social media linked consultations hit record in 2023
In 2023, there were 910,000 consultations, and consumer damage from problematic transactions amounted to a record ?8.8 trillion.
Amid the rising popularity of saunas, the Consumer Affairs Agency is urging users to exercise caution following a spike in the number of sauna-related accidents.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024
Â鶹´«Ã½ consumer watchdog warns of accidents in the sauna
Users are urged to exercise caution to avoid severe injuries amid a spike in accidents as saunas become more popular.
A lawyer representing a consumer organization speaks during a meeting held to call for stricter regulations on "functional foods," in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024
Mandatory reporting of ¡®functional food¡¯ health problems proposed
The Consumer Affairs Agency panel discussed reforms in response to health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical supplement products.
The official whistleblower protection system is not well-known among workers in Japan, a survey finds.
JAPAN
May 14, 2024
Less than 40% of Â鶹´«Ã½ employees know about whistleblower protection system
The survey showed a tendency for larger companies to have more employees familiar with the system.
A survey of the 6,975 products with the functional food label was initiated by the government last month following the scandal over Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals¡¯ beni k¨­ji supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2024
Probe finds 18 functional food products with past reports of health damage in Japan
The survey results come as the industry reels from deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical¡¯s beni k¨­ji supplements.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2022
Â鶹´«Ã½ Consumer Affairs Agency seeks regulation of stealth marketing
In a questionnaire, about 40% of influencers surveyed said that they had experienced requests from advertisers for stealth marketing.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2022
Amway Japan ordered to halt transactions for six months over illegal soliciting
The company was punished for soliciting people to buy products or sign up for membership without telling them that they would be made to participate in a networking business.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2019
Â鶹´«Ã½ Consumer Affairs Agency cancels plan to fully relocate to Tokushima
The government will shelve a plan to relocate all of the functions of the Consumer Affairs Agency to Tokushima Prefecture, according to sources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2019
As LED bulbs catch on in Japan, Consumer Affairs Agency issues public fire warning
With over 300 accidents involving LED light bulbs logged in the past decade, the Consumer Affairs Agency is warning the public to use them properly after getting reports of fires erupting when switching bulbs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2019
Aging equipment and bad cable connections behind home-use solar system accidents in Japan
A commission under the Consumer Affairs Agency has found that numerous fires and other serious accidents involving home-use solar power systems have been caused by factors such as old equipment and faulty cable connections.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2017
As part of experiment, Consumer Affairs Agency transfers office from Tokyo to Tokushima
As part of the government¡¯s drive to relocate some of its Tokyo-centric functions to other cities to promote regional revitalization, the Consumer Affairs Agency inaugurated a new office in Tokushima Prefecture on Monday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2014
Consumer Affairs Agency must step up anti-fraud fight
Japanese society may envied in many parts of the world, but there¡¯s a fraudulent underside that ripped off consumers in amounts totaling 1.2 percent of the nation¡¯s GDP in 2013.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
New ¡®Katsu Curry Index¡¯ aims to show how weak the yen really is
A CoCo Ichibanya curry house in Tokyo.
Mexican man arrested over attempt to smuggle some 200 lizards into Japan
Mexican alligator lizards seized by Tokyo Customs from a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle them into Japan on Saturday through Haneda Airport
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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