Lead
Finding out that a child has been spending money on a game is not uncommon. Looking up "can we get a refund?" quickly leads to the Civil Code. The law looks complicated at first, but once the core mechanism is understood, both preventive measures and responses after the fact become much easier to organize. This article covers how Japan's minor contract rescission right works and the specific conditions under which it fails to produce an actual refund.
Background: Article 5 of the Civil Code — The Minor's Right to Rescind
Under Article 5 of Japan's Civil Code, a legal transaction entered into by a minor without the consent of their legal guardian (parent or other holder of parental authority) may be rescinded: legally cancelled or undone, restoring both parties to their position before the contract was made [1]. Sales contracts and in-app purchases (purchase of services) fall within "legal transactions." The right to rescind is, in principle, the legal backstop that protects minors from the consequences of unsupervised spending.
A critical development: the 2022 Civil Code amendment lowered the age of majority from 20 to 18. This means that 18- and 19-year-olds are now legally adults and the minor rescission right no longer applies to them [2]. High school seniors and university freshmen and sophomores have lost this legal protection — a change that many parents have not absorbed.
Three Conditions That Make Rescission Difficult in Practice
In theory, the contract can be rescinded. In practice, there are three conditions under which an actual refund becomes difficult.
1. Age Misrepresentation
If a child entered an age as "18 or older" or checked "I agree" on a consent screen during account registration or at the point of purchase, the contract may be treated as fraudulently obtained, limiting the right to rescind under Article 21 of the Civil Code. The claim that "the child did this without our knowledge" is not, by itself, sufficient when affirmative age misrepresentation was involved.
2. Implied Parental Consent
If a parent was aware that purchases were being made but took no action for an extended period, there is a risk that this will be interpreted as the legal guardian having implicitly consented to the transactions. Checking payment statements regularly and responding promptly when irregular charges appear both matter legally, not just practically.
3. "Benefits Already Received" — The Problem of Spent Gacha Results
With randomized reward systems (<em>gacha</em>: monetization systems, common in mobile games, that offer randomized virtual items in exchange for money — structurally similar to slot-machine mechanics), the service is considered consumed at the moment of purchase. Unlike returning a physical product, the question of what "benefit received" means for digital content is handled differently by different companies. In practice, many providers decline to issue refunds for gacha spending on the grounds that the service was delivered.
Why Gacha Complicates Things Further
Randomized monetization systems share structural characteristics with problem gambling behavior. Research on adolescents found a statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.293) between spending on gacha and problem gambling tendency scores [3]. The question of whether a purchase can be reversed is secondary to the broader point: parents benefit from understanding the behavioral risk architecture built into these spending systems in the first place.
Steps to Take if a Dispute Arises
Japan's National Consumer Affairs Center (Kokumin Seikatsu Center) received approximately 18,000 consultations about minor purchase disputes in the 2022 fiscal year [4]. The practical response sequence:
- Contact the service provider directly: Explicitly invoke the minor's right to rescind and request a refund.
- Consult the National Consumer Affairs Center: Call 0570-064-370. Staff can advise on how to approach the negotiation.
- File a report with the Consumer Affairs Agency: The final recourse if the company's response is unreasonable.
Practical Takeaways
Prevention is more effective than dispute resolution after the fact.
- When granting permission to use a gaming device, remove credit card information from the platform's payment settings at the same time. If using a prepaid card, set a spending cap before handing it over.
- Both iOS and Android have parental controls and purchase approval settings. Check that they are configured.
- When children turn 18, they are no longer covered by the minor rescission right. The transition to high school is a reasonable moment to explain this directly — it is a minimum form of legal literacy worth passing on.
Summary
In-app purchases by children under 18 may in principle be rescinded under Article 5 of Japan's Civil Code. However, age misrepresentation, implied consent, and the "benefit already received" treatment of spent gacha transactions all create real obstacles to getting a refund. The 2022 lowering of the age of majority to 18 removed this protection for 18- and 19-year-olds — a change worth making explicit to teenagers. The law only helps those who know it exists. Establishing rules before the problem arises is almost always more effective.
References
- Civil Code of Japan, Article 5 (Legal acts by minors). Act No. 89 of 1896, as amended April 2022.
- Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan. Notice regarding consumer disputes related to online gaming. March 2023.
- Zendle D, Meyer R, Over H. Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations to spend. R Soc Open Sci. 2019;6(6):190049. doi:10.1098/rsos.190049. PMID: 31312499.
- National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (Kokumin Seikatsu Center). Troubles related to online games and video streaming services. FY2022 edition.
- King DL, Delfabbro PH. Internet gaming disorder treatment: a review of definitions of diagnosis and treatment outcome. J Clin Psychol. 2014;70(10):942–955. doi:10.1002/jclp.22097. PMID: 24752916.