The government will next fiscal year strengthen the operation of a consumer affairs body that deals with problems involving online shopping with overseas companies amid an increase in such consultations in recent years.
The government plans to boost the number of staff at the Cross-border Consumer Center Japan (CCJ) and use private-sector interpreters to improve its response capabilities to ensure that problems are dealt with swiftly.
When consumers in Japan receive damaged products from overseas suppliers or products are not delivered at all, the CCJ works with organizations in charge of consumer affairs in countries where the suppliers in question are based to solve the problems.
The CCJ, which currently has 14 employees, was established in the Consumer Affairs Agency in 2011 and was transferred to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan in 2015.
With people spending more time at home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the use of online shopping has rapidly expanded, and the number of consultations with the CCJ is expected to continue to rise.
"Under the current system, it would be difficult for the CCJ to provide high-quality responses to the consultations it receives," said a senior Consumer Affairs Agency official.
The government will launch a process to recruit officials who are well versed in overseas business transactions in April and onward to increase the number of CCJ employees to more than 1.5 times the current level. The CCJ will also handle such cases as transactions using crypto-assets, or virtual currency.
The government will also work with interpreting services to improve its ability to handle consultations in Chinese among other foreign languages. The agency earmarked 100 million yen to cover the costs in a third supplementary budget for fiscal 2020.
The number of consultations with the CCJ has been increasing. In fiscal 2019, it received 6,018 cases, an increase of about 2,000 cases from fiscal 2014.
As far as can be established, by country, the United States has the highest number of problematic suppliers. China and Switzerland also have high numbers of such dealers.
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