Money matters tend to be complex. Things like foreign-currency deposits and investment trusts are somewhat easy to understand, but when it comes to life insurance, most people would probably admit they don't have a clue which policy is best. This is because most companies sell insurance policies in complex combination packages.

For example, for many term life insurance policies worth 30 million yen in death benefits, there are quite a few cases that more than half the premiums paid go straight to administrative fees and profits. How many people know this?

``With our aging society and deregulation, consumers are at risk. They need to know how to protect themselves.'' This thought motivated one man to start an online service to educate and advise consumers about insurance policies.

Kenichi Nogami, 45, of Osaka Prefecture, runs the site. After working for Nippon Life Insurance, he switched to a foreign life insurance company. Two years ago, after butting heads with the parent firm's managers over business policies, he left that job, too.

After much soul-searching, he ended up at a Zen temple, where he meditated. He was told that as long as he is being of some use to society, earning a basic living would somehow fall into place. His Web site offers information about things like how to calculate how much your insurance policy really costs.

There have been times when consumer movements were powerful. An early example is the Housewives Association (Shufuren), which arose in 1948 from a meeting of women who were complaining about the poor quality of the matches produced by match-making companies. Brandishing rice paddles and aprons as a symbol of their struggle, members of Shufuren campaigned relentlessly, urging business and the government to improve the safety and quality of this basic necessity of life. Their achievements brought much progress in eliminating faulty products.

But when it comes to faulty financial products, consumer groups haven't been very active. In most communities, the local consumers affairs center can offer some advice. In 2003 alone, such centers received more than 250,000 complaints and inquires about financial or insurance issues. That number is five times as much as such queries three years prior.

Staff at the centers say: ``These are issues that need the advice of specialists, but there are few such skilled advisers working for consumer groups.'' The situation in Japan is drastically different from that in Western countries, where retirees from the financial sector often move on to work for consumer groups.

Nobuko Takahashi, a journalist who covers consumer economics issues, has long promoted consumer rights.

Despite the implementation of the Financial Instruments Sales Law in 2001, little progress has been made. ``The law's iron rule is that companies must heed their client's needs and financial expertise and not sell them something inappropriate,'' Takahashi says. ``But that rule is not being followed.'' The Consumer Protection Fundamental Law, which was revised last year, has a new provision pointing out the need to pay attention to the disparity of knowledge and negotiation skills between the seller and the buyer. This clause should be vigorously enforced with regard to financial transactions.

A new law regulating investment services is due next year, aimed at protecting both investors and consumers. But most life insurance products are likely not to be covered by this law. Although life insurance is considered the second most expensive purchase one makes in a lifetime (the first being your house), the insurance industry is fiercely fighting being lumped in with the investment industry, saying, ``Life insurance is not an investment.''

Insurance adviser Nogami is studying at a law school. He decided he needed to become a lawyer to be able to negotiate successfully on behalf of consumers.

``Paradoxically, consumers will soon be forced to take action because taxes are inevitably going to rise and the family budget is going to shrink,'' says Nogami.

That's probably so. But before we are driven into such a corner, we ought to try to create an age of ``consumer sovereignty.''

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 7(IHT/Asahi: January 8,2005)