Articles 70-76 of the Japan ASCT establish the comprehensive penalty + enforcement framework administered by the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) + with civil enforcement by Qualified Consumer Organizations + Police involvement for criminal cases. (1) Article 70 False Representation - Most Severe Criminal Offence: (a) materially false statements; (b) misleading representations re price + quantity + cancellation + cooling-off; (c) up to JPY 3 MILLION FINE + 3 YEARS IMPRISONMENT; (d) corporation dual liability + up to JPY 100M; (e) repeat offence aggravated; (f) deceit + intent enhanced punishment. (2) Article 71 Telemarketing Violations: (a) failure to identify; (b) prohibited solicitation; (c) up to JPY 1 MILLION + 1 YEAR; (d) corporate dual liability. (3) Article 72 Email/SMS/Direct Mail Excessive Advertising: (a) post-2002 amendment + 2008 expansion; (b) up to JPY 1 MILLION; (c) covers spam + opt-out failure + misleading subject. (4) Article 73 Failure to Deliver Documents: (a) Article 4 + 5 + 18 + 19 + 35 + 36 + 58-7 + 58-8 document obligations; (b) up to JPY 1 MILLION; (c) per consumer per violation. (5) Article 74 Minor Infringements: (a) procedural violations; (b) up to JPY 1 MILLION. (6) Article 75 Corporate Dual Liability: (a) corporation + responsible officer both subject to penalty; (b) maximum corporate fine for Article 70 - JPY 100 MILLION (10x individual cap for serious); (c) Director + Officer personal liability for failure to supervise; (d) D and O insurance + indemnification considerations. (7) Article 76 Continuing Offences: (a) per-day accumulation for continuing violations; (b) acceleration of penalty timeline. (8) Administrative Sanctions (Distinct from Criminal): (a) Business Improvement Orders (Gyomu Kaizen Meirei 業務改善命令) - require corrective action; (b) Business Suspension Orders (Gyomu Teishi Meirei 業務停止命令) - up to 2 years (longer for serious + MLM); (c) Public Naming (Kohyo 公表) - CAA publishes violator name + violation + sanctions on official website; (d) Recall Orders for deceptive products. (9) CAA Investigation Process: (a) consumer complaints received via Local Consumer Affairs Centers + CAA hotline 188 + online portal; (b) CAA on-site inspection; (c) Document requests; (d) Hearing + opportunity for response; (e) Determination + Order; (f) Appeal to Administrative Tribunal + Court. (10) Article 58-4 + 58-13 Qualified Consumer Organization Injunctions (Civil Enforcement): (a) Qualified Consumer Organizations (Tekikaku Shouhisha Dantai 適格消費者団体) certified by Prime Minister; (b) Right to seek INJUNCTION against violations; (c) Class action style standing; (d) ~30 Qualified Consumer Organizations nationwide; (e) Examples - Consumers Network Japan + Tokyo Consumer Affairs Network + Osaka Consumer Affairs Center. (11) Civil Damages: (a) Consumer right to compensation for damages caused by violations; (b) Consumer Contract Act voidability; (c) Limitation period 5 years (Civil Code); (d) Joint and Several liability for multiple defendants. (12) International Cooperation: (a) International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN); (b) OECD Consumer Policy Committee; (c) Bilateral arrangements with US FTC + UK CMA + EU DG SANCO; (d) Joint enforcement against international platforms + cross-border scams. (13) Recent Enforcement Trends: (a) Foreign e-commerce platform enforcement (notable cases against international SaaS + subscription services); (b) Crypto-related schemes (criminal prosecutions); (c) Dark pattern enforcement post-2023 amendment; (d) Senior-targeted door-to-door + visit purchase enforcement; (e) MLM + investment scheme prosecutions. (14) Notable Cases (2020-2025): (a) High-profile e-commerce subscription platform Business Suspension Orders; (b) Multiple aesthetic clinic suspensions; (c) Cryptocurrency MLM criminal prosecutions; (d) IT bootcamp consumer fraud cases; (e) Gold purchase senior fraud cases; (f) Multiple solar panel door-to-door cases. (15) Compliance Best Practices: (a) Internal Compliance Program; (b) Trade Association membership (JADMA + Direct Selling Association); (c) Regular CAA Guidelines monitoring; (d) Privacy + Consumer Protection joint program; (e) Senior-vulnerable customer special procedures; (f) Multilingual compliance for inbound business. Coordinates with Consumer Contract Act + Consumer Affairs Agency and Consumer Commission Establishment Act + Pyramid Scheme Prevention Act + Premiums and Representations Act + Civil Code + Criminal Code + Local Consumer Affairs Center network + Police Consumer Fraud Divisions + JFTC + Insurance Industry Self-Regulation + Banking Industry Self-Regulation. Japan ASCT Penalties + Enforcement + Articles 70-76 applies.
The graph holds this control, the 0 it maps to, and the evidence behind each claim, over MCP and REST.