Japan has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Japan has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

The Act on Improvement of Transparency and Fairness in Trading on Specified Digital Platforms and the Consumer Contract Act provide a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. The first was passed for the purpose of curbing digital platforms' imposition of unilateral changes to their terms of use and anti-competitive practices. The Act requires digital platform operators which are designated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to disclose terms and conditions for the use of their platforms, to take certain measures to promote mutual understanding of digital transactions, and to file an annual report. And it applies to all operators of digital platforms that provide services to the Japanese market regardless of where they are based. In addition, according to Art. 1 of the Consumer Contract Act the aim of it is to protect the interests of consumers and thereby contribute to the stabilization and improvement of the general welfare and lives of the people and to the sound development of the national economy, in consideration of the disparity in the quality and quantity of information and negotiating power between consumers and traders.

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 88, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

It is reported that in order to apply for the domain name .jp, companies or individuals are required to have a permanent postal address in Japan. Second level domains, such as co.jp, may be applied for by companies incorporated with official registration in Japan. Non-Japanese corporations registered in Japan as "Gaikoku Kaisha" (Foreign Company) may also apply for a "co.jp" domain name. To register a "co.jp" domain name, a company must be established in Japan. Foreign companies can meet this requirement by, for example, having a registered branch office.

The Radio Act (Act No. 131 of 1950) covers all products which utilize the radio spectrum and operate under 3 THz. Regarding most consumer-use equipment within its scope, the Radio Law divides products into three categories. Specified radio equipment requires a third-party assessment. High-frequency devices must be tested for compliance and registered by a local Japanese company before they can be placed on the market. Extremely low-power devices are not subject to mandatory approval requirements.

The mandatory process of certification for telecommunications terminal equipment, according to the Japan Telecommunications Business Law, includes testing by a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications accredited lab. Telecommunications terminal equipment requires certification for connection to public network services in Japan. There are two ways to prove that telecom terminal equipment complies with the technical requirements according to the Rules Regarding Accreditation of the Conformity of Terminal Equipment to Technical Requirements (Ordinance No. 15 of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communication of 2004):
- Accreditation of a single piece of equipment by conformity of terminal equipment to technical requirements (Art. 8);
- Type certification for mass-produced products (Art. 19).

The type of conformity assessment procedure adopted is the Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) type 2 - the supplier or manufacturer of the equipment declares the equipment meets the technical and administrative requirements on the basis of test reports by a testing laboratory recognized by the regulator. No registration of the equipment with the regulator is required. This mandatory requirements are limited to EMI as for the products covered by Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law.
The Act divides electrical products into specified and non-specified products. While specified electrical products such as AC adapters, electric massagers require third-party assessment by a registered conformity assessment body (CAB), non-specified electrical products are subject to a self-declaration scheme for mandatory PSE mark.
Similarly, under the Consumer Product Safety Act (Act No. 31 of 1968), some electrical products classified as special specified products because of high risk to consumer safety require a third-party assessment by a registered CAB, while specified products with moderate risk to consumer safety are subject to self-declaration for PSC mark.

The Telecommunications Business Act (Act No. 86 of 1984) was amended in 2019 to prohibit mobile service operators from imposing high subscription fees to justify "subsidies" for the purchase of mobile devices. The mobile service operators had been offering these subsidies to entice customers by making the devices cheap or even free when, in fact, the subsidies were recouped by high mobile fees. To prevent this, the amendment prohibits the bundling of mobile device purchase and carrier service contracts, sets a cap on allowable discounts for handset prices, and specifies criteria allowing exemptions for retailers to discount non-performing inventory. It is reported that subsequently the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications issued implementation ordinances that allow a 50% discount for handset mobile devices no longer in production after 12 months since the last procurement and an 80 percent discount after 24 months. These exceptions to the discount restriction are reported to reward Japanese manufacturers, who tend to produce an abundance of cheaper, limited-life devices, and harm foreign companies, who create higher-quality devices that retain their functionality and value over time.

It is reported that Japan does not allow for the importation of any devices for the purposes of testing or demonstration that do not already hold regulatory authorizations. This restriction is reported to give Japanese companies an advantage in the market over foreign companies which face delays in testing devices on local carrier networks before product launch. The restriction also makes it difficult for foreign companies to collaborate with engineers in their countries on design, development, accessories, and compatibility with other devices and prevents foreign companies from obtaining local customer feedback during the development process.

Chapter 4 of the Act on Development of an Environment that Provides Safe and Secure Internet Use for Young People (Act No. 79 of 2008), which became effective in April 2009, provides obligation to provide service to filter content harmful to young people. The Act imposes this obligation not only for Internet service providers and mobile network service providers, but also for manufacturers of equipment with functions to access the Internet such as smartphones as a result of the amendment that came into effect in 2018.

The amendment of the Copyright Act (Act No. 48 of 1970) adopted regulations on "index sites" that contain links leading to infringing content. It is reported that due to the requests for content removals and blocking, ISPs must monitor the customer's online activity to determine whether they are accessing the sites in question.

Japan's Act on the Limitation of Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to Demand Disclosure of Identification Information of the Senders establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 3 of the Act, no Internet service provider (ISP) may be held liable for failing to delete infringing content. Furthermore, the Act also shields ISPs from the liability for any damage caused by the deletion of content on its network if the ISP reasonably believes that the content infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy of others, or if a third party alleges infringement and the content sender does not respond to the ISP's inquiry within seven days.

Act for the Prevention of Illegal Mobile Phone Use requires mobile voice communication carriers to verify the identity of subscribers when a contract is terminated or transferred

Japan's Act on the Limitation of Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to Demand Disclosure of Identification Information of the Senders establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 3 of the Act, no Internet service provider (ISP) may be held liable for failing to delete infringing content. Furthermore, the Act also shields ISPs from the liability for any damage caused by the deletion of content on its network if the ISP reasonably believes that the content infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy of others, or if a third party alleges infringement and the content sender does not respond to the ISP's inquiry within seven days.