The Japanese National Police Agency has implemented a new strategy to address the growing issue of counterfeit advertisements. The plan involves combating these fictitious ads with 'genuine' countermeasures that prioritize consumer protection. Revealed recently, this approach underscores the agency's determined efforts to crack down on deceptive practices in advertising, often perpetuated online, that mislead consumers and damage the market's integrity.

Fake advertisements have become a concerning issue in Japan, especially with the onset of e-commerce and online transactions. The Japanese value trust and reliability in business dealings, and these counterfeit ads directly oppose those values. Furthermore, Japanese law strictly regulates false advertisements, reflecting a societal respect for truth and fair trade.

In contrast, in countries like the US and the EU, handling counterfeit ads has primarily been the responsibility of regulatory bodies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Consumer Centre (ECC) respectively. While these bodies also promote consumer protection, they chiefly operate using pre-emptive regulations and post-incident litigation rather than law enforcement intervention.