A law amending the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations came into effect on 1 October 2024. The Consumer Affairs Agency has broadly divided the amendments into three categories: “promotion of voluntary efforts by entrepreneurs,” “strengthening violation deterrence” and “developing regulations to ensure smooth enforcement, etc.”
On 28 May 2024, the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced that it had issued an order to pay an administrative fine (called a “surcharge” under Japanese law) in the amount of JPY 1,655,940,000 to the Chugoku Electric Power Company, Incorporated (“Chugoku Electric”) under Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (“Act”). The CAA alleged in its order that Chugoku Electric had violated the Act by displaying advertising messages regarding household electricity rate plans on its website that appeared to be cheaper than they were in reality.
On 29 November 2023, the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan and the Japan Fair Trade Commission jointly issued the Guidelines Concerning Price Negotiation for Appropriate Shifting of Labor Costs (“the Guidelines”). Rapid price inflation has made it particularly important to create a business environment in which small and medium-sized companies can secure resources for wage increases. The Japanese government has been working on price-shifting measures and established the Guidelines as one of its efforts to improve the business environment.
Baker McKenzie was invited to serve as the global editor of the Chambers Advertising & Marketing 2022 Practice Guide which features 8 high-profile jurisdictions and provides the latest legal information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, advertising claims and clinical studies, comparative advertising, social/digital media, influencer campaigns, consumer promotions, sports betting/gambling, and cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens.
On 28 January 2022, the Japan Fair Trade Commission published a report warning that setting offering prices for startup companies without sufficient explanation or reasonable grounds may give rise to concerns under the Japanese Anti-Monopoly Act. Given the authority’s close scrutiny of such transactions, securities companies involved in initial public offerings are strongly advised to review their offering price-setting processes, including whether sufficient discussions have been held with the startup companies, to ensure that they are not setting prices unilaterally.