FY2023 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 the Cross-border Consumer center Japan (CCJ) in the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC) in fiscal 2023.

In fiscal 2023, the number of inquiries received by CCJ reached a record high since the establishment of CCJ. The cases in fiscal 2023 include many problems related to subscription: consumers were directed to a subscription page and signed up for a subscription against their will and they were trying to cancel it.

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

Trends and characteristics in FY2023

• CCJ received 6,371 inquiries about cross-border consumer disputes in fiscal 2023, showing an increase of 27% from 5,006 in fiscal 2022 and reaching a record high since the establishment of CCJ.
• The breakdown of inquiries by age group shows concentration in the 40s and 50s age groups, respectively account for about 23%. The over-sixties age group accounts for 18.1%, showing an increase of about 5% since fiscal 2022.
• The breakdown of inquiries by transaction type shows that almost all of the inquiries are about trouble over "online shopping" (98.7%) as in fiscal 2022. Meanwhile, inquiries related to purchase in destination countries increased from fiscal 2022.
• The breakdown of inquiries by payment method shows that the percentage of "credit card payment" increased from 59.2% in fiscal 2022 to 67.1% in fiscal 2023, which is the highest.
• According to the breakdown of inquiries by type of trouble, inquiries related to "trouble over cancellation" accounted for 53.6%, showing a considerable increase from 41.0% in fiscal 2022.
• According to the breakdown of inquiries by product/service category, there was an increase in inquiries related to "services", which was led by numerous inquiries related to cancellation and refund of subscription.
• The most common home country of businesses related to the inquiries was the US (20.5%), followed by Cyprus (10.6%), Hong Kong (7.1%), and Singapore (6.7%). Incidentally, "Cyprus" ranked 14th in fiscal 2022. The surge was caused by businesses in Cyprus related to trouble over subscription cancellation.