2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Comparative Study of the Role of Standards in the System of Consumer Law and Policy in the 21^<st> Century
| Project/Area Number |
17530086
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Civil law
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| Research Institution | Tezukayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
MICHELLE Tan Tezukayama University, Law and Policy Faculty., Professor (60299146)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MATSUMOTO Tsuneo Hitotsubashi Univ., Graduate Law School, Professor (20127715)
MARUYAMA Chikako Hirosaki Univ., Faculty of Education, Associate Professor (20324965)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2007
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| Keywords | Consumer law / Consumer policy / Standards / Soft law / self-regulation / co-regulation |
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| Research Abstract |
In this study we focus on Japan, Australia and Europe, and look at the present state of consumer policy relating to local and international standards. Up till now, our studies focusing on Australia, EU as well as the international standards body, ISO, have shown that standards can play important part of the consumer policy as a means of protecting consumer rights in a market-based approach to consumer policy.
We have shown that in order to be effective standards need to be linked to the legal system in some way, and that there needs to be consumer participation in the standard making process as well as education for consumers to improve their awareness of the role of standards . We conclude that this type of market-based approach to improving consumer welfare through standards which are linked to the consumer law system could be effective in Japan.
In the latter part of our research we have focused on child safety, because in Japan many child injuries are now being reported by the media. We conclude that mandatory standards are necessary to protect children form the risks associated with products they use in their everyday lives.
Michelle Tan took part in a survey of Japanese and Western parents living in Japan to determine if there were any differences in their consideration of safety aspects of products when buying such products for their children. We also asked about their experiences with injuries related to their childrens7 use of products, as well as the places they felt were dangerous for their children in their everyday lives. Their opinions were quite contrasting, and we can use this information to further improve child safety for children in Japan, particularly through standards.
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