Consumers Union of Japan

Consumers Union of Japan (日本消費者連盟^?) or CUJ was founded in 1969 by Takeuchi Naokazu. CUJ is certified as a non-profit organization by Japan's NPO legislation. With offices in Nishi-Waseda, Tokyo, CUJ publishes "Consumer Report" as a member newsletter, as well as an online service in Japanese.

CUJ has been an associate member of Consumers International since 1972, promoting consumer protection in Japan.

In 1971, CUJ invited US consumer advocate Ralph Nader to Japan for a workshop. Early campaigns had a distinct focus on food safety and environmental concerns, including class action lawsuits against illegal oil industry cartels. CUJ was an early opponent of nuclear power and food irradiation in Japan, holding various events throughout the country during the anti-nuclear power action week in 1977. CUJ has supported the campaign to stop the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in the Aomori Prefecture.

In 1982, CUJ called for an end to liberalization of agricultural products. The campaign was called, "Yes to Complete Grain Self-sufficiency" and in 1985 CUJ organized meetings of rice farmers and consumers to discuss how to protect rice production in Japan from pressure to liberalize Japan’s rice market, in order to restore Japan’s food self-sufficiency. CUJ has also protested imports of whale meat from Norway, noting that PCB contents were 7.6 times the Japanese government's maximum permissible level.

Since 1996, CUJ has been the center of the opposition to genetically modified food (GMO) in Japan, starting the "No! GMO" Campaign, and demanding mandatory labeling of all GMO foods.

...
Wikipedia