Announced Aug 6, 2026 | Joint request to Google, LINE Yahoo, Meta, TikTok, X
On August 6, 2026, Japan's National Police Agency announced that seven ministries and agencies had jointly asked major platform operators to strengthen measures against "impersonation" scam ads on SNS and similar services. The request went to five companies: Google LLC, LINE Yahoo, Meta Platforms, Inc., TikTok Pte. Ltd. and X Corp. The NPA website publishes a public information document plus a separate request letter addressed to each of the five firms, so anyone can read what was asked. Impersonation scam ads use the name or photo of a real celebrity, company or public body without permission to win users' trust and lure them into fraud. Three points stand out: the request is issued jointly by seven ministries rather than one; it targets five services simultaneously, all widely used in Japan; and the letters are published, making the demands transparent. A request (要請) is administrative — it is not a legal order or penalty — but it calls on each company to reinforce ad screening and responses to user reports.
Foreign residents and travelers are especially exposed to impersonation scam ads because it is hard to tell a genuine Japanese-language ad from a fake one. When a Japanese celebrity or a ministry logo appears, the ad can feel official — but Japanese government bodies do not recruit people from an ad into a LINE group or chat. The five companies named in this joint request run the services people in Japan use every day for messaging, information and shopping. If ad screening and complaint handling are reinforced as requested, exposure to such ads should fall. Because a request carries no penalty, however, users still need to judge for themselves for now. If an ad looks suspicious, report it with the in-app reporting function first, and always verify on the official website or with an official counter before sending any money.
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