14. 第 14 章

Influenced by the American movement, the United Kingdom established the Consumers’ Association in 1957, which grew to 700,000 members, making it Britain's largest consumer organization. Its flagship publication, Which?, focused on comparative product testing and wielded considerable influence. Additionally, the Consumer Advisory Council set up by the British Standards Institution published the Shopping Guide, providing readers with evaluations of product inspections. Other national consumer bodies included the Society for Consumer Affairs, the National Federation of Consumer Organizations, and the National Consumer Protection Council. Propelled by the consumer movement, the Board of Trade appointed the Committee on Consumer Protection (CCP) in 1959 to investigate consumer protection issues. The Committee’s final report in 1962 contained proposals for legal reforms in the field of consumer protection, significantly influencing British consumer policy. Under immense pressure from the movement, the UK established the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection in 1974 to oversee policies and legislation regarding consumer affairs.

In Japan, signs of a pre-war consumer movement appeared as early as the "Rice Riots" (Kome Sōdō) during the Meiji era (1897), which protested high rice prices. In the early 1950s, a movement centered on opposing price hikes emerged. In 1951, the Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU) was founded. By 1953, the Japanese economy had recovered to pre-war levels, and following the "Jimmu Boom" and "Iwato Boom" starting in 1955, Japan entered an era of mass consumption. In September 1955, the Housewives’ Association of Japan convened the "Life Defense Consumers’ Conference," regarded as the awakening of the Japanese consumer. In 1956, eleven organizations formed the National Liaison Council of Consumer Organizations; the following year, they held the "National Consumer Congress" and issued the Consumer Manifesto. It demanded that the pricing and quality of all products be determined respecting consumer will and put forward the slogan of "consumer sovereignty." In 1959, the Japanese government published its White Paper on National Life, introducing the slogan "Consumer Revolution." Alongside this revolution, new types of consumer issues arose, such as environmental pollution and defective products. The Japan Productivity Center established a Consumer Education Committee in 1958 and launched the magazine Shoppin