Japan's Financial Services Agency logged 15,765 consumer submissions to its Financial Services User Consultation Office in January to March, up 989 from the previous quarter. Investment-product matters stayed the largest bucket at 5,449, deposits and lending followed at 4,226, and insurance rose to 2,423. Crypto-related contacts were the only major category to fall, slipping to 1,466.
| Category | Jan-Mar 2026 | Oct-Dec 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposits and lending | 4,226 | 4,046 | +180 |
| Insurance products | 2,423 | 2,047 | +376 |
| Investment products | 5,449 | 5,101 | +348 |
| Lending | 688 | 642 | +46 |
| Fund transfer and prepaid instruments | 157 | 117 | +40 |
| Crypto-assets | 1,466 | 1,516 | -50 |
| Financial administration and other | 1,356 | 1,307 | +49 |
| Total | 15,765 | 14,776 | +989 |
Where the increase came from
The mix shifted in a way that is awkward reading for firms with large retail footprints. Insurance posted the biggest absolute increase, up 376 from the previous quarter, while investment products rose by 348 and deposits and lending by 180. Lending matters edged up to 688, fund-transfer and prepaid-instrument contacts rose to 157, and financial-administration and other matters increased to 1,356. The payments bucket grew fastest in percentage terms, up 34.2%, but remained small in absolute volume next to banking, investment and insurance. Crypto-related contacts, by contrast, fell by 50.
The channel shift
How people reached the office changed as well. Phone remained the biggest intake route at 8,683 submissions, but that was down from 9,302 in the previous quarter. Website submissions jumped to 6,196 from 4,707, while letters rose to 438 and other routes to 369, and fax slipped to 79. Average daily intake increased to 272 from 246. The FSA also said its AI chatbot recorded 2,188 accesses during the quarter, with 762 in January, 681 in February and 745 in March.
Why it matters
These figures are not an enforcement scoreboard. The FSA says the consultation office centrally handles questions, consultations, opinions and information sent by users, gives advice on how to sort issues and points people toward industry dispute-resolution bodies where appropriate. It also says the office cannot arbitrate, mediate or conciliate disputes, even though the information it receives is passed to relevant departments as an input to financial monitoring.
For banks, brokers, insurers, payment firms and crypto operators, that makes the quarterly tally a useful, if imperfect, guide to where consumers are seeking help most often. This time, the pattern tilted further toward investment products, insurance and core deposit-and-lending services, while crypto eased a little.