Society

Japan cracks down on '1 yen smartphones'

TOKYO, Dec 27 (News On Japan) - The Japanese government on Wednesday implemented tighter regulations on popular "1 yen smartphone" offers, in part to stem their resale in foreign markets.

One customer, who managed to purchase five phones for the family, commented, "We grabbed this last opportunity to get new phones for practically one yen. It's a deal for the whole family, five units in total, including one for my grandmother."

Another, who bought a phone for their child, expressed the urgency, "We were told it would be impossible from tomorrow, so we had to hurry."

Smartphone prices had been heavily discounted through combined offers with Internet service contracts and additional discounts on the handset, not governed by existing regulations. However, starting from Dec 27, such aggressive discounting practices will be prohibited under the new regulations.

The policy change aims to counter the resale of the phones in foreign markets at much higher prices.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications anticipates that "excessive discounts on devices will be curbed" with these new regulations.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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