The Japan Financial Services Agency published its quarterly statistics on enquiries, opinions and other contacts received by its Financial Service User Consultation Office for the October 1 to December 31 period of Reiwa 7. The office recorded 14,820 receptions (an average of 247 per day), down 1,208 from the previous period, and the AI chatbot was accessed 2,675 times. Investment products accounted for the largest share of consultations at 5,101 (34%), followed by deposits and loans at 4,046 (27%), insurance products at 2,047 (14%) and crypto assets at 1,516 (10%), with smaller volumes for money lending (681) and fund transfers and prepaid payment instruments (122). Overall, 10,198 (69%) contacts were questions and consultations, 4,057 (27%) were opinions and requests and 368 (2%) were information, while the main channels were telephone (9,336; 63%) and website (4,716; 32%); chatbot usage was split evenly between office hours and outside office hours. The report also highlights 2,907 cases linked to fraudulent investment solicitations across investment products and crypto assets, including 2,385 cases involving some form of damage, and 12 information requests relating to lending reluctance and loan stripping, with hearings and verifications conducted with two financial institutions in a separate July 1 to September 30 window. The agency notes that consultation information is shared internally for financial monitoring and related purposes, including providing information on 15 accounts linked to unauthorised deposit account use to financial institutions and police authorities, and reiterates that consultation reception statistics are published quarterly.

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