This article was written by the NIPPON VISA & LIFE editorial team based on information from public organizations such as the national government and local governments. Rules and fees may differ depending on the city, ward, town or village where you live.
If you have a problem with shopping or a contract, do not worry about it alone. Call “188” (Consumer Hotline (188) (消費者ホットライン)). You will be connected to a consultation office such as the Consumer Affairs Center (消費生活センター) in the area where you live, and a specialist consultant will listen to you. Consultation is free (but you pay the call charges).
The Key Points First
- For problems with contracts or shopping, call 188 (just 188, without an area code. The same number all over Japan)
- When you enter your postal code, you will be connected to a Consumer Affairs Center or similar office in the area where you live
- If you made a contract through door-to-door sales, telephone sales or similar, you may be able to use cooling-off (クーリング・オフ) (a system that lets you cancel a contract within a set period)
- There is no cooling-off for mail-order sales, including sales on the internet
- If there is a danger to your life or body, first contact the police (110) or the fire department (119)
(Sources: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”, National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC) (国民生活センター), “Cooling-off”)
What Is a Consumer Affairs Center?
A Consumer Affairs Center is a consultation office for problems with shopping and contracts, set up by cities, wards, towns and villages, or by prefectures. Specialist consultants accept complaints and questions about all areas of consumer life, such as products and services.
- There are 847 Consumer Affairs Centers across Japan (as of April 1, 2025).
- In addition, every city, ward, town and village has a consumer consultation office.
- The consultants handle consultations from a fair and neutral position.
(Sources: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Overview of the Consumer Hotline”, National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Affairs Centers Across Japan”)
What You Can Consult About at 188
According to the Consumer Affairs Agency, consultations like the following are accepted.
- Problems with a shop or company (business) about a contract
- Problems with fraudulent business practices (such as tricking people into buying expensive things), door-to-door sales, mail-order sales and similar
- Accidents caused by products, food or services
- Problems caused by labels that hide the true place of origin, false advertising and similar
For consultations like the following, you will be introduced to a specialized consultation office.
- Consultations about human rights, labor problems (work and wages), complaints about pollution, health consultations such as about infectious diseases, and consultations about government administration
If you have suffered serious harm to your life or body, or if danger is close, first contact the police or the fire department.
(Source: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Overview of the Consumer Hotline”)
How to Call 188
What Happens After You Call
- Call 188 (do not add an area code)
- A recorded message plays. If you know the postal code of where you live, press “1”. If you do not know it, press “2”
- If you pressed “1”, enter the 7-digit postal code of where you live
- If you pressed “2”, what happens depends on the type of phone
- Landline: follow the message and choose the area where you live
- Mobile phone: you do not choose an area, and you will be connected to a Consumer Affairs Center or similar office of the prefecture where you live
- After a message about the call charges (“about XX yen every XX seconds”) plays, you will be connected to a nearby consultation office
- What you enter is your postal code. It is not a phone area code. If you make a mistake, you will be connected to a different area.
- If the office of your city, ward, town or village is not open, you may be guided to a Consumer Affairs Center or similar office of the prefecture, or told the name, phone number and opening hours of an office.
- During the consultation, you may be asked your name, address, phone number, gender, age and occupation. This is to handle your consultation.
(Sources: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Overview of the Consumer Hotline”, National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Affairs Centers Across Japan”)
Call Charges
Consultation is free, but call charges apply from the moment you are connected to the consultation office. The main call charges (the same all over Japan) shown by the Consumer Affairs Agency are as follows.
| Phone you call from | Call charge |
|---|---|
| Landline (regular line) | 9.35 yen (including tax) every 180 seconds |
| Mobile phone | 22 yen (including tax) every 30 seconds |
| Public phone | 10 yen (including tax) every 40 seconds |
- The call charges may differ depending on your phone plan.
- Calls are not covered by “unlimited calling” (flat-rate call services) on mobile phones. You pay separate call charges.
- If you know the phone number of the consultation office, calling the office directly may be cheaper.
(Source: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”)
Phones That Cannot Connect to 188
You cannot use 188 from some IP phones, prepaid mobile phones, or the telephone relay service. In that case, call the consultation office in your area directly. You can find a nearby Consumer Affairs Center on the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan’s website “Consumer Affairs Centers Across Japan.”
(Sources: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”, National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Affairs Centers Across Japan”)
On Weekends and Holidays, or When the Line Is Busy
- The days and hours when you can consult differ depending on the office you are connected to.
- On weekends and holidays, when the nearby office is not open, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (an independent administrative agency set up by the national government) may take your consultation. This excludes periods such as the New Year holidays (December 29 to January 3).
- When the office line is busy and you cannot get through, you can also use the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan’s “backup consultation.” The phone number is 03-3446-0999, and it is open on weekdays from 10:00 to 16:00 (except weekends, holidays and the New Year holidays).
(Sources: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”, National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Affairs Centers Across Japan”)
Cooling-off (A System for Cancelling a Contract)
What Is Cooling-off?
Cooling-off is a system that lets you withdraw an application or cancel a contract, even without a reason, within a set period after you applied for or made the contract.
Transactions Covered and the Periods
| Period | Type of transaction |
|---|---|
| 8 days | Door-to-door sales (including “catch sales,” where someone stops you on the street and takes you to a shop), telephone sales, long-term services such as beauty salons, language schools and cram schools (specified continuous services), and door-to-door purchases (a business comes to your home and buys your things) |
| 20 days | Chain sales transactions (so-called multilevel marketing, or “multi” schemes), and business opportunity sales (a practice of making you buy things by saying you will get home-based work or monitor work) |
- The period is counted from the day you received either the application document or the contract document, whichever came first.
- If there are defects in the content of the document, you may be able to use cooling-off even after the period has passed.
- Even for the transactions above, you may not be able to use cooling-off depending on the conditions.
(Source: National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Cooling-off”)
Mail-Order Sales, Including Internet Sales, Are Not Covered
There is no cooling-off for mail-order sales (internet shopping, TV shopping and similar).
- If there is a rule (special agreement) about whether you can return items and the conditions for returns, that rule applies.
- If there is no such rule, you can return the item within 8 days, counting the day you received it. However, you pay the shipping cost for the return yourself.
Before you buy, read the explanation such as “About returns” on the website.
(Source: National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Cooling-off”)
How to Use Cooling-off
You give notice of cooling-off in writing (a postcard is fine) or by a method of sending data such as email (electromagnetic records).
- Write the date of the contract, the name of the person who made the contract, the name of the product you bought, the contract amount and so on. Also write the date you send the notice
- Send it within the period in which cooling-off is possible
- If you have a credit contract, notify both the seller and the credit company at the same time
- With a postcard: before sending it, copy both sides of the postcard. Send it to the company’s representative by a method that leaves a record of sending, such as “specified record mail” (特定記録郵便) or “simple registered mail” (簡易書留). Keep the copy and the record of sending together.
- With email or similar: if the contract document states where and how to send the notice, follow it. Save the email you sent or a screenshot of the screen of the dedicated form.
- Keep the record of sending and related documents for at least 5 years.
- If you could not use cooling-off because the shop said “cooling-off is not possible” or threatened you, you can use cooling-off even after the period has passed.
You can use cooling-off by yourself. If you do not know whether your transaction is covered, or how to write the notice, consult a Consumer Affairs Center right away.
(Source: National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Cooling-off”)
Frequently Asked Questions
I am not good at Japanese. Is there an office in foreign languages?
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan has a foreign-language office called the “Consumer Hotline for Tourists,” but this office is for tourists visiting Japan. If you live in Japan, you should consult 188 or the Consumer Affairs Center in the area where you live. Please ask the office you are connected to whether you can consult in a foreign language. If you are worried about calling in Japanese, you can also ask a family member who speaks Japanese, or someone from your school or company, to call with you.
(Source: National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Hotline for Tourists”)
I received a postcard from the “National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan” or the “Consumer Affairs Agency”
The Consumer Affairs Agency is warning people to watch out for fake postcards that falsely use the names of the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan and the Consumer Affairs Agency. Such postcards can lead to problems like fraud. Do not call the phone number written on the postcard right away. Consult 188 instead.
(Source: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”)
I may have been tricked, or I am being threatened. How do I consult the police?
If it is an incident or accident and you need help quickly, call 110. For consultations that are not urgent (worries and problems about safety in daily life), go to a nearby police station or call the police consultation number “#9110”.
When you need an ambulance because of a sudden illness or injury, call 119. How to call is explained in How to Call an Ambulance in Japan: How to Dial 119, What to Say, and Where to Get Advice When You Are Unsure (#7119).
(Source: National Police Agency, “Opinions, Consultations and Information”)
If I call 188, will I be connected to the Consumer Affairs Agency?
No. 188 is a phone number that guides you to a consultation office such as the Consumer Affairs Center in the area where you live. It does not connect you to the Consumer Affairs Agency.
(Source: Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”)
The basics of money and shopping in Japan will be explained in Basics of Money and Shopping in Japan (Banks, Payments and Sending Money). For how to open a bank account, read How to Open a Bank Account in Japan: What You Need, Reasons You May Not Be Able to Open One, and Notifying the Bank When Your Address or Period of Stay Changes.
Primary Sources Referred to for This Article
- Consumer Affairs Agency, “Consumer Hotline”
- Consumer Affairs Agency, “Overview of the Consumer Hotline” (PDF)
- National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Affairs Centers Across Japan”
- National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Cooling-off”
- National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, “Consumer Hotline for Tourists”
- National Police Agency, “Opinions, Consultations and Information”
This article is a translation of the original Japanese version.
