Fraudulent and malicious sales methods victimizing innocent people have become a social issue. In a typical case, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested four former salesmen last month on suspicion of having cajoled or pressured some 5,400 people in 34 prefectures into signing contracts for housing renovation in the past three years. The amount of sales attributed to coercive methods used by the suspects was estimated to have reached 14 billion yen. Most of the victims were elderly people living alone or suffering from senile dementia.

To protect consumers against such crimes, the government is proposing an epoch-making bill based on a report written by the Quality of Life Council of the Cabinet Office. The bill, to be submitted to the ordinary Diet session in 2006, would enable consumer organizations to seek an injunction against a questionable sales method or contract on behalf of people who have actually suffered damage. Revising the Consumer Contract Law so that a third party can file such a lawsuit is a first in the nation's legal practices and represents an important step toward rescuing consumers from malicious salespeople.

Only consumer organizations that have been authorized by the Cabinet Office would be able to file the lawsuit. The main criteria will be that they have corporate status, lawyers and a history of activities aimed at protecting consumers, and operate independently of business interests.