The Japan Financial Services Agency has published the minutes of the 69th Financial Trouble Liaison and Coordination Council, which appointed Sophia University’s Morishita as chair after Yamada declined the role and reviewed the operation of eight designated dispute resolution organizations under Japan’s financial alternative dispute resolution framework. In the first half of fiscal 2025, complaint-handling cases across the eight bodies rose 6% year on year to 4,066, while dispute resolution cases fell 4% to 647. The council was also told there had been no significant change in the composition of outcomes or in the time taken to conclude cases. The discussion centred on how designated organizations are trying to make procedures more satisfactory to users. Measures described included using plain language, providing clearer advance explanations of procedures, helping users prepare petitions, expanding online and remote processes, using questionnaires to capture user feedback, and feeding lessons back through external expert reviews and industry channels. Separately, the FSA’s Financial Services User Consultation Office reported 15,211 consultations in April to June 2025, about 3,000 more than a year earlier, with a further increase in July to September. The rise was attributed mainly to account takeover incidents and fraudulent investment solicitations, including cases linked to social media. Phone remained the main channel with 9,800 consultations or 64%, while website submissions reached 4,700 or 31%. The secretariat said it would consider future work on issues raised during the meeting, including the impact of AI and social media on complaints and user expectations. It also noted that the FSA’s list of financial institution consultation and complaint hotlines is now available in both PDF and HTML format and will continue to be reviewed.

Original source Back to tracker