October 14, 2026
Japan Fair Trade Commission
Campaign to Strengthen Public Awareness of the Freelance Act in FY2026
Today, I would like to talk about this fiscal year’s campaign to strengthen public awareness of the Freelance Act.
The Freelance Act, formally known as the Act on Ensuring Proper Transactions Involving Specified Entrusted Business Operators, came into effect on November 1, 2024, and will soon enter its third year. Since the Act came into effect, the JFTC has worked to take swift and appropriate action in cases where violations were found. We have steadily built up our enforcement record, issuing 10 recommendations in FY2025 and another 10 so far in FY2026.
Turning to public awareness efforts, since the promulgation of the Act in May 2023, the JFTC has actively carried out extensive public outreach to ensure the smooth enforcement of the Act, including intensive and large-scale media campaigns.
We believe that these efforts have helped raise awareness of the Freelance Act to some extent, but it is important to raise awareness further. In addition, both ordering parties and freelancers need to deepen their understanding of the Act and apply that understanding in practice. This is essential to ensure that transactions between them comply with the Act and that freelancers can report violations to the JFTC when they occur.
Accordingly, this fiscal year as well, the JFTC has designated the period from October 8 to November 30 as a public awareness campaign period. During this period, we will carry out intensive, large-scale publicity efforts to raise awareness of the Freelance Act.
As part of this campaign, we will carry out various publicity initiatives in collaboration with “Secret Society Eagle Talon,” a well-known anime series that has frequently collaborated with government agencies.
First, the JFTC has launched a new special webpage on its official website in collaboration with “Secret Society Eagle Talon.” As in the previous year, the webpage features explanatory videos about the Act and a comprehension test. This year, we have also added practical resources that can be used in actual transactions, including a downloadable order form template and checklists covering each stage of a transaction, from placing an order to making payment. The webpage also provides other useful resources for both ordering parties and freelancers, so we encourage everyone to visit it.
We will also run internet advertisements featuring content from “Secret Society Eagle Talon.” In addition, we will display the logo on checkout screens at convenience stores, air in-store announcements, and run radio commercials during “ONE MORNING,” a program on TOKYO FM.
Going forward, we plan to continue promoting the Freelance Act through a variety of advertising channels so that more people will come across information about the Act in their everyday lives.
We also plan to hold briefing sessions on the Freelance Act, mainly during the public awareness campaign period, together with sessions on the SME Transactions Act and other related laws and regulations. Registration is already open for a session in Saitama Prefecture. Sessions have also been scheduled in four prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Chubu Office and three prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Kinki-Chugoku-Shikoku Office. We plan to hold additional sessions in several other cities. These sessions will provide an opportunity to deepen your understanding of the Freelance Act and related laws and regulations, including the SME Transactions Act and, under the Antimonopoly Act, the Payment Notification and the Logistics Special Designations. We encourage everyone to attend.
The JFTC will continue to provide clear and accessible information for both freelancers and ordering parties, and will remain committed to actively promoting public awareness of the Freelance Act.
（Tentative translation）
