Japanese authorities are tightening scrutiny on so-called "illusory" discounts often seen in retail markets. In these instances, businesses are accused of hiking original prices just to seemingly offer significant discounts to customers. The practice, while common, raises critical legal and ethical questions about fairness and transparency. Updates are expected as regulations may be amended to offer greater consumer protection.

In Japan, consumer protection has become an increasing focus for authorities. "Illusory" discounts, perceived as deceptive practices, undermine trust, weaken consumer rights, and destabilize the marketplace. The Japanese public largely holds a high standard for business transparency and fairness, hence the heightened sensitivity to such issues.

In the US and EU, legislation against deceptive pricing strategies, such as false reference pricing, exists with regulatory bodies actively enforcing rules. Recent years have seen sizable fines against companies for misleading "original prices", "sale prices", along with "was/now" pricing that fails to reflect actual preceding prices.