Outline of Cross-Border Consumer Center Japan
(CCJ)
June 2015
Consumer Affairs Agency Japan
Globalization of Economy and Expanding Internet Usage
 It is becoming increasingly easier to do business across borders due to the
globalization economy and the spread of Internet usage.
- Rapidly Expanding E-Commerce Market in Japan (Hundreds of
millions of yen)
Size of the B to C and E-Commerce Market in Japan (2008 - 2013)
120,000
- Increasing Cross-Border Business Size of consumer cross-border e-commerce market in 2013 between Japan, the
United States and China (estimated total)
417.1 billion yen
100,000
China
807.2
billion yen
80,000
60,000
285.7 billion yen
432.3 billion yen
United
States
719.7
billion yen
390.2 billion yen
40,000
20,000
17.9 billion yen
60,890
66,960
77,880
84,590
95,130
111,660
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Japan
19191.5 billion
yen
173.6 billion yen
0
E-Commerce Market
The arrow indicates the direction of the sale
Indicates the total cross-border e-commerce
purchase amount
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “FY2013 Report on the Foundation of an Information and Service Economic Society in Japan
(Market Survey on E-Commerce)”
1
Examples of Problems with Cross-border e-Commerce in Japan
• Counterfeit goods delivered
• Paid but not delivered
• Defective / Broken products delivered
• Delay in delivery
• Unauthorized Charges
• No response from the retailers
2
Cross-border Consumer Center Japan (CCJ)
• Established by the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan (CAA)
November, 2011
in
• Providing advisory services and information related to cross-border
transaction upon the request from consumers by e-mail, fax or web-site
• Assisting the resolution of disputes over transactions between
Japanese consumers and overseas business entities or between
consumers in other countries and Japanese businesses
• Operated/funded by the CAA until the end of March, 2015
• From April, 2015, operated/funded by the National Consumer Affairs
Center (NCAC)
• Entrusting practical operations of the CCJ to the private sector
3
CCJ’ s Overseas Partners
• To solve consumer problems with cross-border transactions, CCJ
cooperates with 6 overseas organizations
Spain
United States
and Canada
CCJ
March 2014 ~
November 2011 ~
Singapore
Taiwan
Central and South
America
November 2011 ~
Vietnam
November 2011 ~
February 2012 ~
January 2015 ~
4
Consultation Flowchart
• The sole organization dealing with cross-border consumer complaints
• Mutual relationships with overseas consumer support organizations
Japan
Overseas
1’. Consultation
5’. Advice
Consumers
Businesses
1. Consultation
3. Conveys
consultation details
presents solutions
Nation-wide
consumer affairs centers
Businesses
5. Convey
answers
offer advice
Support
CCJ: Cross-border
Consumer Center Japan
Consumers
1. Consultation
3. Conveys consultation details
presents solutions
2. Translate and convey
consultation details and seeks
advice regarding solutions
4. Translate and convey answers
5. Convey answers
offer advice
Overseas consumer affairs
organizations
(Six organizations in the United States,
Singapore, etc.)
5
Handling Consumer Complaints
• Handling consumer complaints in the following steps.
Problems between Japanese consumers
Problems between US consumers and
and US businesses (Example)
Japanese businesses (Example)
1. A problem occurs between a Japanese consumer and US
business
2. Consumer consults with CCJ
3. CCJ conveys the details to the BBB in the US, one of CCJ's
overseas partner
4. The BBB conveys the consultation details to the business
and agrees on a solution
5. CCJ conveys the answer from the business to the consumer
6. The transaction is performed between the consumer and
the business based on the agreed solution
1. A problem occurs between a US consumer and Japanese
business
2. The consumer consults with the BBB 3. The consultation
details are conveyed from the BBB to CCJ
4. The consultation details are conveyed from CCJ to the
business and a solution is agreed upon
5. The BBB conveys the answer from the business to the
consumer
6. The transaction is performed between the consumer and
business based on the agreed solution
6
Number of Consumer Complaints Received by CCJ
 The number of consumer complaints to CCJ increases year-over-year.
 There are some months with an unusually large number of consultations and
this is due to a large number of consultations* for a specific product or service.
600
503
478
500
471
421
399
400
366
332 341
249 253
220 225
193
200
147
123
156
143
138
345
335
334
303
303
Monthly average
369 (2014)
154 154 146
Monthly average
351 (2013)
107
100
21
382
363
246
192
169
366
418
331
293
300
407 413
Monthly average
166 (2012)
0
* Specifically Example 6 and Example 7 in 4. Consultation Examples. (Page 30 – 31).
7
Type of Transaction
 Almost all consultations are related to e-commerce.
 The cross-border e-commerce market for consumers is estimated to continue
increasing in the future* and this trend is forecast to continue.
Type of Transaction
Other
Local Purchase
1%
2%
Type of
Transaction
E-commerce
No. of Cases
Share
10,576
97%
Local purchase
221
2%
Other
Other
143
1%
(n=10,940)
Total
10,940
100%
E-Commerce
E-Commerce
97%
Local Purchase
* According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “FY2013 Report on the Foundation of an Information and Service Economic Society
in Japan (Market Survey on E-Commerce)”, the size of the cross-border e-commerce consumer market among Japan, the United States and
China will increase from 1.7 trillion yen (estimated) in 2013 to maximum 4.1 trillion yen in 2020.
8
Payment Method
 Credit card payments make up more than half of all payment methods.
 Because fraudulent businesses prefer to receive payment through bank transfers,
*
“financial institution transfers” also make up a large portion of payments.
Other
Cash
Payment Method
3%
1%
Unclear
2%
Credit card
Payment agency
2%
Financial institution
Credit card
Financial
institution
transfer
43%
49%
transfer
Payment agency
Cash
Other
Unclear
Payment Method
No. of Cases
Share
Credit card
5,366
49%
Financial institution
transfer
4,755
43%
Payment agency
239
2%
Cash
73
1%
Other
281
3%
Unclear
226
2%
10,940
100%
(n=10,940)
Total
* Businesses must wait to receive payment in case of credit cards from the credit card company. On the other hand, businesses can receive
payments from bank accounts immediately and this is why it is thought fraudulent businesses prefer “financial institution transfers”.
9
Type of Problem
 A majority of problems involve fraudulent businesses (“imitation product
delivered”* and “suspected fraud”).
 Other problems include (contract termination (21%)” and “merchandise not
delivered (13%)”).
Type of Problem
Defective product
Returns
2%
3%
Unauthorized
delivered
product
Suspected fraud
delivered,
Other,
charges
Imitation product
Imitation
2,017
18%
delivered
Suspected fraud
3,608
33%
Merchandise not
delivered
1,368
13%
Contract termination
2,284
21%
Unauthorized charges
399
4%
Returns
289
3%
Defective products
191
2%
Other
784
7%
Total
10,940
100%
termination
Unauthorized
termination,
Suspected
not delivered
fraud, 33%
13%
(n=10,940)
charges
21%Merchandise
Share
Merchandise not
Contract
Contract
No. of cases
Imitation product
delivered
18%
7%
4%
Type of Problem
Returns
Defective product
Other
* “Suspected fraud” includes cases where even though consumers are able to confirm orders or payments, communication is cut off with the
business without anything being delivered (or the business doesn’t respond in a reasonable way) and the consumers cannot accurately grasp
the situation of the business. The meaning of “Imitation product delivered” can be taken broadly to mean fraudulent, but this has been
differentiated in order to grasp the facts and trends of imitation products being delivered. “Merchandise not delivered” is used when the
10
existence of the business can be confirmed and is different than “Suspected fraud”.
Country/Region of Business
 The highest number of consultation of cases * concerned China at 38%.
Next was the United States at 29% and these two countries made up 70%
of all cases.
Country/Region of Business
Germany, 1%
Taiwan, 1%
France, 1%
Other counties / regions
Thailand, 1%
South Korea,
2%
China
8%
United States
Netherlands, 3%
England
Hong Kong
India
3%
Hong Kong
4%
England
China
India
38%
Netherlands
South Korea
Taiwan
6%
Thailand
United States
29%
Germany
France
Other counties / regions
(n=7,603)
* From the total number of 10,940 consultation cases, 3,184 cases which the business location was unknown and 153 cases which the business
location was in Japan were excluded and a total of 7,603 cases was set as the parameter.
11
Efforts for Protecting Consumers from Problems (1)
• Releasing regularly case examples based on consumer consultations to CCJ and
providing tips to avoid problems related to cross-border transactions
Each case example shows useful advice and points
to solve and prevent problems
Statistical data is used to easily
explain trending problems
12
Efforts for Protecting Consumers from Problems (2)
• Released
a list of features of
counterfeit selling websites for
protecting consumers against them
(February, 2013)
• Has regularly released the names
and URLs of overseas malicious
websites
(280 as of the end of May, 2015)
(Example) Website confirmed to sell
imitation products
(*) Information on the website is
updated periodically.
13
Summary
• Operated more than three years
• Total number of consultations since the establishment:
more than 11,000
• Accumulating know-how for handling consumer
complaints related to cross-border transactions
• Developing into a permanent entity and having more
stable operations
• Consumer issues with overseas shopping continue to
increase in Japan
• Hoping to expand cooperation relationship with overseas
organizations
14