The Consumer Affairs Hotline (188)

When a purchase goes wrong in Japan, the first call is 188. Dial these three digits and the 消費者ホットライン (shōhisha hotto-rain, "consumer hotline") routes you to the nearest local consumer affairs center, where trained advisors help with the dispute for free.¹²

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details with the Consumer Affairs Agency and your local consumer affairs center, since hours, languages, and mediation practice are set locally.

Overview

The hotline exists for anyone who does not know where to turn with a consumption-life problem: a defective product, a high-pressure contract, a landlord standoff, an online merchant gone silent, or a suspected scam. You describe the trouble, and the advisor maps the options.¹

The service behind the number is the network of local 消費生活センター (shōhi seikatsu sentā, "consumer affairs centers"), backed nationally by the 国民生活センター (kokumin seikatsu sentā, "National Consumer Affairs Center", abbreviated NCAC). The Consumer Affairs Agency funds and supports this network so every prefecture and municipality can staff it.³⁴

What the Hotline Does

Calling is simple and the help is practical. The diagram below shows the path from dialing to resolution.¹⁴

Calling 188

Dial 188 with no area code from anywhere in Japan (as of 2026-09). The system connects you to the nearest consumer affairs center or consultation contact point, not to a single national desk.¹²

The 188 line itself operates in Japanese (as of 2026-09). If you cannot handle a Japanese call alone, bring a bilingual friend onto the line or check your center's interpretation options before calling.¹⁵

Call 188 before you write an angry review

Advisors resolve many disputes through a single mediated merchant contact. A calm advisor call usually outperforms a public complaint, and it preserves a record if the case later needs escalation.⁴

What advisors can do

Consumer advisors give general advice on disputes with retailers, service providers, landlords, and online merchants. They help draft cooling-off cancellation notices and, in some cases, contact the merchant on your behalf to seek a fix.²⁴

Behind them sits NCAC, which supports local centers with consultation backup, mediation and ADR channels, staff training, and product testing. Many disputes resolve at this advisor-mediation stage without ever reaching legal action, though no single published resolution rate exists, so treat that as practitioner pattern rather than promise.⁴

Language Realities

Japanese is the default on 188, but foreign residents are not entirely on their own. Some local centers staff multilingual advisors or offer telephone interpretation, and NCAC publishes a prefecture-by-prefecture list of consultation services available in English and other languages.¹⁵

Short-term visitors have a separate channel: the tourist hotline at 03-5449-0906, open weekdays 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00, in English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, French, and Japanese (as of 2026-09; standard call rates apply). Residents with a local dispute should use 188 and their local center instead.⁶

Centers differ, so confirm your local setup first

Reception days, hours, and language support are set by each municipality. Check your city or ward website for the center's page before calling or visiting, and confirm whether walk-ins or appointments apply.¹⁵

Before You Call

Gather the contract or receipt, the seller's name and contact details, a timeline of what happened, and the remedy you want: refund, repair, replacement, or cancellation. Advisors work far faster with documents than with memories.³

Note the exact date of any high-pressure sale or defective delivery. Cooling-off windows and return periods run from documented dates, so precision here protects your options.²

Good to know

Call early; delay weakens mediation

Cooling-off windows and return periods run from documented dates, so days lost shrink the advisor's options. Call while every path is still open, even if you are unsure the case qualifies.²

Centers advise, they do not order refunds

Advisors mediate, draft, and refer; they cannot compel a merchant to pay. Binding outcomes require ADR proceedings or court action, which the advisor will route you toward when mediation stalls.⁴

Scam cases get a different first response

Suspected fraud shifts the advice toward preserving evidence and contacting the police alongside the consumer center. Mention any threats, fake identities, or wire-transfer demands up front so the advisor triages correctly.¹³

See also

• Move-Out Inspection and Deposit Negotiation in Japan
• ISP Cancellation and Lock-In in Japan
• The Ministry of Justice Human Rights Hotline
• Resilience and Recourse Strategies

References

Footnotes

1. 消費者庁 (CAA, English). 「Local Cooperation」 (hotline 188, Japanese only, routes to nearby center). https://www.caa.go.jp/en/policy/local_cooperation ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. 九州経済産業局. 「8日間を過ぎてもクーリング・オフできる可能性があります！」 (2025-05-14; 188 routes to nearest center). https://www.kyushu.meti.go.jp/seisaku/shohisya/oshirase/250514_1.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. 国民生活センター (NCAC, English). 「Consultation Services」 (foreign-language consultation services by prefecture). https://www.kokusen.go.jp/e-hello/map/index.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. 消費者庁 (CAA, English). 「About Us」 (NCAC supports local centers; consultation, mediation, ADR, training, product testing). https://www.caa.go.jp/en/about_us ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

5. 国民生活センター (NCAC, English). 「National Consumer Affairs Center of JAPAN」 (top page; consultation cases; tourist hotline). https://www.kokusen.go.jp/ncac_index_e.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. 国民生活センター (NCAC, English). 「Consumer Hotline for Tourists」 (03-5449-0906; Mon-Fri 10:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00; EN, ZH, KO, TH, VI, FR, JA). https://www.cht.kokusen.go.jp/en/faq/faq.html?id=000085 ↩