Japanese
(Provisional Translation)
September 7, 2022
Financial Services Agency
The general incorporated association Organization for Management of Debt Consolidation Guidelines
for Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Other Natural Disasters
（Japanese version: published August 3, 2022)

[Attention]
Users of the Natural Disaster Guidelines (including the Special Provisions concerning COVID-19) are never required to pay remuneration to registered support experts!

　Recently, there seem to be cases where users paid a large amount of remunerations to organizations that allege to offer support for the use of the Guidelines for Debt Consolidation for Victims of Natural Disasters (including the Special Provisions for Applying the Guidelines to COVID-19 Patients; hereinafter referred to as the "Natural Disaster Guidelines").

　Affairs relating to the Natural Disaster Guidelines, such as commissioning and payment of remunerations for registered support experts, are all handled by the general incorporated association Organization for Management of Debt Consolidation Guidelines for Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Other Natural Disasters (hereinafter referred to as the "Managing Organization").

　Basically, under the mechanism of the Natural Disaster Guidelines, users may independently file an application for the use thereof. When using the Natural Disaster Guidelines, users may receive support for undertaking procedures from registered support experts, such as an attorney, free of charge and are never required to pay remuneration to registered support experts by themselves. (Users may undertake procedures by receiving support from any person other than registered support experts, but the cost therefor must be borne by themselves.)

　There are websites that state they are offering services as if under commission by the FSA or the Managing Organization, but note that the FSA and the Managing Organization have no relation to these service operators.

　Not limited to the aforementioned cases, if you feel any suspicion, consult with the FSA, a bar association in your community, or a financial institution where you have an account, etc., instead of readily providing personal information or paying cash