Japan — Installment Sales Act connection of defences and Specified Commercial Transactions Act

The clocks it starts

• Mail-order return window (8 days where no policy was published)Where a mail-order or internet seller published no return policy, art. 15-3 of the Specified Commercial Transactions Act allows return within eight days of receipt. Where a policy was published, it governs — which is why the first step is to read the seller's statutory disclosure page.特定商取引法 (Act on Specified Commercial Transactions) — Cooling-off: 8 days for door-to-door and telemarketing sales, 20 days for multilevel and business-opportunity sales; art. 15-3 return rules for mail-order salesNotice period
• Civil limitation (5 years from knowledge)Fatal if missedUnder the Civil Code as amended in 2020, a claim generally prescribes five years from when the creditor knew it could exercise the right, or ten years from when it became exercisable. Rescission for misrepresentation under the Consumer Contract Act has its own shorter periods — one year from when the misunderstanding was corrected, and five years from the contract.Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• Hold the seller to its published return policyEvery Japanese distance seller must publish a 特定商取引法に基づく表記 disclosure setting out its return and refund policy. Under art. 15-3 that published policy binds the seller, and where none was published the consumer may return the goods within eight days of receipt. Screenshot the page before you complain — sellers edit them.Cooling-off: 8 days for door-to-door and telemarketing sales, 20 days for multilevel and business-opportunity sales; art. 15-3 return rules for mail-order sales

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

Where to take it next

1. 01Written demand to the seller and suspension notice to the credit companyWrite to the seller setting out the defect or non-delivery. Separately, file a 支払停止の抗弁書 with the credit card company under art. 30-4 so that collection stops while the dispute runs.Claim direct·typically 14 days
2. 02消費生活センター / National Consumer Affairs Center (消費者ホットライン 188)Dialling 188 routes you to your nearest local consumer affairs centre. They mediate free of charge, they know the Installment Sales Act forms, and a call from a centre changes how a seller responds. This is the single highest-value step for a Japanese consumer and it is badly under-used.Alternative dispute resolution·typically 45 days·official page
3. 03Designated dispute resolution body for the credit companyCredit card companies are required to be members of a designated dispute resolution organisation (指定紛争解決機関) under the Installment Sales Act. Ask which one, and file there if the credit company refuses to honour the suspension notice.Alternative dispute resolution·typically 90 days
4. 04少額訴訟 (small claims) in the Summary CourtThe 少額訴訟 procedure handles money claims up to ¥600,000 in a single hearing, with a modest stamp fee and no need for a lawyer.Small claims·typically 90 days