Internet retailers in Japan are far stricter on the return of goods purchased online than their U.S. counterparts, according to a poll conducted recently by Jupiter Research, the Web market-research arm of Jupiter Media Metrix Inc. of the United States.

The poll shows that 31 percent of Japanese Net retailers clearly stipulate that consumers may only return goods that are defective or for delivery-related errors.

It finds that 37 percent of these retailers allow goods to be returned only if consumers have not opened the mail packages or have not used the goods.

The findings indicate that almost 70 percent of Web retailers impose strict conditions on the return of goods, Jupiter Research said.

Online retailers are "failing to sufficiently take into account the interest of consumers," an official of the firm said.

No U.S. Web retailers make the same kind of demands concerning defect or delivery-related mistakes, and 63 percent are willing to allow consumers to return goods even if they have been opened or used.

Also, 46 percent of Japanese online retailers only allow consumers to return goods if they are sent back within two weeks of delivery date.

In contrast, 49 percent of their U.S. counterparts allow consumers to return goods after more than 30 days have passed, the poll shows.

The survey, conducted in May, covers 70 major Japanese and U.S. Web shopping sites. The researcher polled 35 sites in each country.