Regarding the "Unfair Donation Solicitation Prevention Law" enacted in response to the problems surrounding the former Unification Church, some provisions related to administrative measures, penalties, and prohibited acts that have not yet been enforced will come into effect on April 4.
In line with this, the Consumer Affairs Agency has newly established a department responsible for the operation of this law and has begun operating a system to solicit opinions from experts when taking administrative measures.
The Act on Prevention of Unfair Donations was enacted last year to provide relief to victims in response to problems surrounding the former Unification Church.
Some of the laws prohibiting malicious solicitation of donations have already been enforced, but administrative measures and penalties that have not yet been enforced will take effect from April 4.
If a corporation or other entity engages in a "prohibited act" when soliciting donations, and there is a high risk that the violation will continue, the government will issue a "recommendation" such as suspension of solicitation, and if it does not comply, it will issue a "measure order".
In addition, if you violate the order, you will be sentenced to imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to 1 million yen.
It is also prohibited to make a donation by borrowing money for a donation or by selling assets that are essential for housing and livelihood support.
In line with the enforcement, the Consumer Affairs Agency established the "Donation Solicitation Countermeasures Office" to oversee the law.
In order to ensure the proper application of the law, the Countermeasures Office receives information from the Consumer Affairs Center and Houterasu, and has set up a dedicated submission form on the Consumer Affairs Agency's website to collect information on acts that are considered to be unfair participation in donations.
In addition, we have started operating an "executive advisor system" that seeks opinions from experts in various fields such as religion and the Constitution when imposing administrative measures and penalties, and judges their appropriateness and appropriateness.