OSAKA -- The Osaka High Court on Dec. 19 upheld a lower court's decision that Universal Studios Japan (USJ)'s policy to prohibit admission ticket cancellations and resales is "legal," dismissing the plaintiff's appeal.

The point of contention in the case was whether USJ's terms prohibiting ticket cancellations and resales violated the Consumer Contract Act, which protects consumer interests.

Presiding Judge Yumiko Tokuoka maintained that the overall terms and conditions "aim to prevent ticket price rises and are reasonable," following the first trial's judgment.

On the other hand, the high court altered the lower court's stance on the prohibition of reselling tickets to third parties, emphasizing the freedom of consumers who purchase tickets. While it acknowledged that the reselling ban could be seen as restricting consumer rights, which is prohibited under the Consumer Contract Act, the court did not find that the clause unilaterally harmed people's interests to the extent of being deemed illegal or invalid.

The Kansai Consumers Support Organization, an Osaka-based nonprofit certified by the national government to exercise rights to protect consumers, utilized a system allowing the group to file lawsuits on behalf of consumers and sought the removal of clauses related to cancellations and resales of admission tickets to USJ. According to the organization, consumer affairs centers nationwide have received complaints about the theme park's policy to refuse ticket cancellations.

Hirokazu Murakami, the attorney representing the plaintiff, stated, "The fact that the court recognized user rights are being restricted is a breakthrough toward acknowledging the park's terms as illegal."

USJ commented on the verdict, "We believe that our claims have been upheld."

(Japanese original by Ryoko Kijima, Osaka City News Department)