FY2021 Summary of inquiries about cross-border consumer disputes received by Cross-border Consumer center Japan (CCJ)

This summary reflects inquiries about cross-border consumer disputes received by Cross-border Consumer center Japan (CCJ) in the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC) in fiscal 2021. Details of the information will be described in the "Annual Report on Consumer Affairs 2022", which will be released on NCAC's website in October 2022.

1. Note: The Japanese fiscal year starts in April and concludes in March of the following year.

Trends and characteristics in FY2021

• CCJ received 4,809 inquiries about cross-border consumer disputes in fiscal 2021. The number slightly increased from 4,625 in fiscal 2020.
• The breakdown of inquiries by age group shows that the number of inquiries from consumers aged 40 and older is the top as in fiscal 2020. The 20s, 30s and 40s age groups respectively account for about 20%.
• The breakdown of inquiries by transaction type shows that almost all of the inquiries are about trouble over "online shopping" (99.9%) as in fiscal 2020.
• "Credit card payment" accounts for about 50% of all, which is the highest, but the percentage decreased year by year. On the other hand, the percentage of payment by debit card and by crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) increased. Payment methods have been diversified.
• "Bank transfer" and payment by crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) included in "other payment methods" have been often used by investment fraudsters, according to the complaints from consumers.
• The breakdown of inquiries by type of trouble shows that inquiries related to "trouble over cancellation" account for nearly half of the total (47.5%). The second most common type is "trouble over fraud or counterfeit products" (17.5%), in which the percentage of those related to delivery of counterfeit products decreased.
• The breakdown of inquiries by product/service category shows that the percentage of inquiries about hobby tools increased from 12.0% in fiscal 2020 to 16.3% in fiscal 2021. On the other hand, the percentage of inquiries about flight tickets decreased from 11.6% in fiscal 2020 to 6.5% in fiscal 2021, which shows a decrease of trouble cases related to flight cancellation and refund due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The most common home country of businesses related to the inquiries is the US (21.9%), followed by China (12.7%), the UK (10.5%) and Hong Kong (10.1%), showing the same rank order as in FY2020. The four economies account for more than half (55.2%) of the total.