The Justice Ministry is considering drafting a bill that would criminalize the possession of forged prepaid cards and gift certificates, according to ministry officials.

In March, the ministry drafted legislation targeting bogus credit cards and the theft of credit-card information. The ministry aims to submit legislation covering counterfeit credit cards, prepaid cards and gift certificates during the next ordinary Diet session, the officials said.

According to the officials, the ministry plans to revise the Penal Code or introduce special legislation to crack down on the possession of forged prepaid cards and gift certificates.

It also plans to take up the matter with the Legislative Council of the Justice Ministry, an advisory body to Justice Minister Hideo Usui, after drawing up detailed measures such as penalties, they said.

Police can arrest those who forge prepaid cards such as telephone cards on suspicion of falsifying securities, but they cannot detain people for possessing fake prepaid cards or certificates.

The envisaged law would allow authorities to punish those who distribute or receive phony prepaid cards or certificates, the officials said.

According to credit-card industry figures, merchants lost 1.45 billion yen worth of goods to customers who used counterfeit prepaid cards in 1998.

But the figure has fallen since it peaked in 1995, they said.

There has been a rapid increase in bogus gift certificates with the advent of color photocopiers and home printers.

Counterfeit gift certificates accounted for some 44 million yen in merchandise losses in 1998, more than 900 times the 1995 level, the figures showed.

Businesses that accept prepaid cards asked the government to draw up legislation to curb prepaid-card forgeries due to fear the number of fake cards would rise if the government targeted only bogus credit cards.