Research On Japanese Consumer Law And Policy

In this thesis, I shall attempt to focus on the importance and the necessity of the theory and practice of the Chinese consumer law based on my study and research of the essence, the content, and the characteristics of the Japanese Consumer Law.The Japanese Consumer Law came into being in 1968 and revised in 2004. Its name was changed to Essentials of the Consumer Law. The original consumer law was legislated as "the policy to protect the consumers," but not stipulated as law to guarantee the "rights of the consumers" and "the rights of the consumers were not protected in the form of a legal contract;" thus being outdated and the consumer groups and the legal society thought it imperative to have the new legislation. The Chinese and Japanese consumer laws have their similarities. Due to the rapid economic development, the development stage in China today is somewhat similar to the yesterday of Japan's economical evolution despite its differences in time and the development stages. While what Japan faces today would become the problems China will face tomorrow.In this thesis, I have given a thorough analysis of the "consumer trends and its problems versus the consumer law legislation" by way of tracing the history of the development of the Japanese consumer law. From a social and historical perspective, this thesis gives primary emphasis on the fundamental concept, principles, policies, and consumer organizations, and the process and the background of the birth of the new consumer legislation. In the mean time, I have given account of the process and background how the new consumer legislation came into being and the changes in consumer policy in Japan. The essence and the significance of the Essentials of the Consumer Law , in my opinion, stipulate that Japanese consumer policy is itself a reflection of its consumer law; its clauses in the consumer organizational law reflect the four fundamental principles of the essentials of consumer legislation in Japan. Of course, the consumer rights and obligations, the challenges the consumers face in today's consumer society are also dealt with.In this thesis, I have drawn the conclusion that the consumer legislation and consumer policies of Japan have set an example for the Chinese consumer law and legislation; thereby laying a solid foundation in theory and factual statistics for Chinese consumer law-makers; thus helping China in its formation of consumer protection organizations and the making of practical consumer protection policies and laws as a whole.