Consumer Contract Act
消費者契約法
Every term this law . Its definitions bind only this law — each entry says where the definition applies and links to the sentence that settles it. 44 terms: 20 with the Ministry of Justice's English, 24 in our translation, marked as such.
消費者
Any individual, except when becoming a party to a contract as a business or for the purposes of a business.
個人（事業として又は事業のために契約の当事者となる場合におけるものを除く。）
A consumer organization as referred to in Article 8 of the Basic Act on Consumer Policies (Act No. 78 of 1968), which describes such organizations as working on their own initiative to collect and provide information on consumers' lives, voice opinions, inform and educate consumers, and prevent and remedy harm to them.
消費者基本法（昭和四十三年法律第七十八号）第八条の消費者団体
A consumer organization (消費者団体) that is a corporation and that the Prime Minister has certified under Article 13 as fit to exercise this Act's right to demand an injunction (差止請求権) in the interest of consumers at large.
不特定かつ多数の消費者の利益のためにこの法律の規定による差止請求権を行使するのに必要な適格性を有する法人である消費者団体（消費者基本法（昭和四十三年法律第七十八号）第八条の消費者団体
A demand made under Article 12 of this Act — a qualified consumer organization's (適格消費者団体) demand that a business stop or prevent solicitation of the kinds Article 4 lets consumers rescind contracts over, or the use of contract terms Articles 8 to 10 make void — or under Article 34, paragraph (1) of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, Articles 58-18 to 58-24 of the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, or Article 11 of the Food Labeling Act.
消費者契約
Any contract made between a consumer (消費者) and a trader (事業者).
消費者と事業者との間で締結される契約
事業者
The business side of a contract: any corporation or other organization, and any individual who becomes a party to a contract as a business or for the purposes of a business (everywhere in this Act except Article 43, paragraph (2), item (ii)).
法人その他の団体及び事業として又は事業のために契約の当事者となる場合における個人
The work of exercising the right to demand an injunction (差止請求権) for the benefit of consumers at large, together with collecting the information on harm to consumers that this needs, and collecting and sharing information on the results of exercising that right that helps prevent and remedy harm to consumers; anyone who wants to do it needs the Prime Minister's certification.
不特定かつ多数の消費者の利益のために差止請求権を行使する業務並びに当該業務の遂行に必要な消費者の被害に関する情報の収集並びに消費者の被害の防止及び救済に資する差止請求権の行使の結果に関する情報の収集及び提供に係る業務
The right to make a demand for injunction (差止請求): a demand under Article 12 of this Act or under the provisions of the other Acts that Article 12-2, paragraph (1) lists.
This Act as amended by Act No. 61 of 2016.
This Act as amended by Act No. 54 of 2018.
This Act as amended by Article 1 of Act No. 99 of 2022.
専門委員
The experts an organization must have giving advice or opinions together in the section that considers whether to demand an injunction and what to demand, to be certified as a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体): people with expert knowledge and experience of consumer affairs, such as consultations on complaints between consumers and traders, and attorneys (弁護士), judicial scriveners (司法書士) or others with expert legal knowledge and experience, each meeting conditions a Cabinet Office Order (内閣府令) sets.
1 June 2023, the date Act No. 59 of 2022, which amended this Act, comes into effect: one year after it was promulgated (公布, officially published) on 1 June 2022, as Article 1 of its supplementary provisions (附則) sets, though some of its provisions come into effect on other dates.
In Article 35, paragraphs (4) to (7), a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) that the Prime Minister has designated under paragraph (1), (6) or (7) of that Article to take over a right to demand an injunction (差止請求権) held by another organization.
Short name for the Act on Special Measures Concerning Civil Court Proceedings for the Collective Redress for Damage Incurred by Consumers (Act No. 96 of 2013).
A third party that a trader (事業者) has entrusted with acting as intermediary in making a consumer contract (消費者契約) with a consumer, including anyone that third party entrusts in turn, through any number of steps.
Lawsuits, together with proceedings on a petition for settlement (和解), conciliation (調停) and arbitration (仲裁).
訴訟並びに和解の申立てに係る手続、調停及び仲裁
従前の適格消費者団体
In Article 35, the qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) that held a right to demand an injunction (差止請求権) before a designated qualified consumer organization (指定適格消費者団体) took that right over.
The Acts amended by Act No. 49 of 2009, the amending law these supplementary provisions (附則) belong to, as they stand after that amendment, together with the orders made under them.
The Acts amended by Act No. 49 of 2009, the amending law these supplementary provisions (附則) belong to, as they stood before that amendment, together with the orders made under them.
第一号施行日
The date the provisions listed in Article 1, item (i) of the supplementary provisions (附則) of Act No. 59 of 2022 come into effect — among them its amendments to Articles 13, 14, 18 to 20, 31, 34, 35 and 50 to 53 of this Act — which is a date set by Cabinet Order (政令) within one year and six months of that Act's promulgation (公布, its official publication).
重要事項
The matters about a consumer contract (消費者契約) that Article 4, paragraph (1), item (i) and paragraph (2) refer to: the quality, use or other content, and the price or other terms of the deal, of the goods, rights, services or other things the contract is for, where they would normally affect a consumer's decision whether to make the contract; and, except under paragraph (2), circumstances in which those things are normally judged necessary to avoid harm or danger to the consumer's life, body, property or other important interests.
消費者契約に係る次に掲げる事項（同項の場合にあっては、第三号に掲げるものを除く。）
In Article 5, paragraph (1), a trader's (事業者) asking a third party to act as intermediary in making a consumer contract (消費者契約) between the trader and a consumer.
The basis on which a trader (事業者) set the damages, or worked out the penalty, that a contract term makes a consumer pay for cancelling a consumer contract (消費者契約); the trader must try to explain an outline of it when the consumer asks, and a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) may ask for it under Article 12-4.
In Article 12, paragraph (1) and Article 43, paragraph (2), item (i), a trader (事業者), a directly or indirectly entrusted party (受託者等) acting as intermediary for a trader's consumer contracts, or an agent of either — the persons a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) can demand stop soliciting consumers in the ways Article 4, paragraphs (1) to (4) describe.
An organized crime group member as defined in Article 2, item (vi) of the Act on Prevention of Unjust Acts by Organized Crime Group Members, or a person who ceased to be one less than five years ago.
A method that uses an electronic data processing system (電子情報処理組織) or any other information and communications technology.
電子情報処理組織を使用する方法その他の情報通信の技術を利用する方法
財務諸表等
The inventory of property and similar documents (財産目録等) and the business report that a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) must prepare for each business year within three months after it ends, including electronic or magnetic records (電磁的記録) made in their place.
A record made in electronic, magnetic or any other form people cannot perceive directly, for use in computer processing.
電子的方式、磁気的方式その他人の知覚によっては認識することができない方式で作られる記録であって、電子計算機による情報処理の用に供されるもの
In Article 46, the court in which a lawsuit over a demand for an injunction (差止請求) is pending, and which the Prime Minister must notify under that Article when deciding whether to rescind another qualified consumer organization's (適格消費者団体) certification, or to make a related finding, will take considerable time.
差止請求権不存在等確認請求
In Article 24, a claim asking a court to confirm that a right to demand an injunction (差止請求権) does not exist, or that no obligation arising from such a right exists.
Consultations about complaints that have arisen between consumers and traders (事業者) in consumers' everyday lives.
The inventory of property, the balance sheet, or the statement set for the kind of corporation — an activity statement (活動計算書) for a specified non-profit corporation under the Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities, or, for a general incorporated association or foundation, a profit and loss statement under the Act on General Incorporated Associations and General Incorporated Foundations (or documents a Cabinet Office Order (内閣府令) sets, where it holds public interest authorization under the Act on Authorization of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Incorporated Foundations) — which a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) must prepare each business year under Article 31, paragraph (1).
The period from 90 to 60 days before a merger takes effect (Article 19) or before the day of a transfer of the whole business of demanding injunctions (Article 20), in which the qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) and the corporation that is not one must jointly apply to the Prime Minister for approval, unless a disaster or other unavoidable cause keeps them from applying then.
The period from 90 to 60 days before a merger takes effect (Article 19) or before the day of a transfer of the whole business of demanding injunctions (Article 20), in which the qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) and the corporation that is not one must jointly apply to the Prime Minister for approval, unless a disaster or other unavoidable cause keeps them from applying then.
In Article 35, a court judgment that sets aside, or declares void or non-existent, a decision (処分) against a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体) rescinding its certification, refusing to renew it, or refusing to approve its merger or the transfer of its whole business.
In Article 35, any of three decisions (処分) about a qualified consumer organization (適格消費者団体): rescinding its certification under Article 13, paragraph (1), refusing to renew that certification, or refusing to approve its merger or the transfer of its whole business.
In Article 46, the Prime Minister's rescinding a qualified consumer organization's (適格消費者団体) certification under Article 34, paragraph (1), or finding under Article 34, paragraph (3) that an organization whose certification had already ended had grounds under item (iv) of paragraph (1) — having conducted a lawsuit or similar proceedings in a way that seriously went against the interests of consumers at large.
旧消費者契約法
This Act as it stood before Article 1 of Act No. 59 of 2022 amended it.
In Article 4, paragraph (4), the quantity, number of times or length of time of the goods, rights, services or other things a consumer contract (消費者契約) is for, which that paragraph compares with what would normally be expected for the consumer concerned.
In Article 4, paragraph (4), a consumer contract (消費者契約) the consumer has already made for the same kind of thing as the one being solicited; its quantity, frequency or duration is added to the new contract's when judging whether the total greatly exceeds what is normal for that consumer.
The period from 90 to 60 days before a qualified consumer organization's (適格消費者団体) six-year certification expires, in which it must apply to the Prime Minister to renew it, unless a disaster or other unavoidable cause keeps it from applying then.
Short name for the Act Partially Amending the Civil Code, etc. (Act No. 45 of 2026).