The Consumer Affairs Agency on November 6 ordered HIS Mobile, a subsidiary of travel giant HIS, to take measures to prevent a repeat of website discount displays that violated the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations through favorable misrepresentation, the agency announced.
HIS Mobile, based in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, ran a "spring travel support campaign" from February 5 to May 8, 2025, for its rental service of Wi-Fi devices that can be carried overseas. The site said customers who signed up for an unlimited plan during the period would get 45% off the rental fee.
But from May 9, the day after the campaign ended, the company applied a 50% discount under the name "Super Summer Sale." The agency found that the spring campaign was displayed in a way that misled consumers into thinking they were better off signing up during that period.
In a "first dream fair" running from December 2025 to February 2026, HIS Mobile displayed "limited-time 50% off" and similar wording against the regular price. It had no record of providing the service at the "regular price" for a set period before the sale began, and the agency found the discount display also made the price look lower than it was.
A HIS Mobile official told the Asahi Shimbun the company takes the order seriously. "We will review how we manage advertised price displays and work to prevent a recurrence and restore trust," the official said.
Because the discount rate depended on when a customer applied, people who traveled at the same time may have paid different prices. The company plans to refund customers who signed up under the spring campaign the difference in the discount rate.