Soken's 'free inner windows' campaign kept running after every deadline

Soken, an Osaka-area home renovation company, sells exterior wall painting under the 'Soken Paint' brand. From April to September 2024, its website ran a chain of campaigns offering free inner-window insulation with a painting contract: 'up to 6 locations free', '6+2 locations free', 'max 10 sheets free'. Each campaign came with a deadline and urgency copy — 'Only now!', 'Campaign ends [date]!', 'Extended due to popularity!'

The deadlines were decorative. The Consumer Affairs Agency found that applications made after the stated campaign dates still received the same number of free inner windows — or more. Buyers who hurried to meet a deadline gained nothing; the limited-time benefit did not exist.

On 22 September 2025 the CAA issued a measure order for misleading representations about advantageous terms: notify consumers publicly, prevent recurrence, stop similar displays. Soken published a statement acknowledging the displays 'could cause misunderstanding' and pledging stronger compliance — while adding that it held views differing from the agency on the facts.