A Tokyo clinic bought its Google 5-star reviews with flu-jab discounts

The マチノマ大森内科クリニック in Tokyo offered patients who came for influenza vaccination a discount on their vaccination fee — on the condition that they posted a 4- or 5-star review in the clinic's Google Maps review section. Every review produced was a 5-star rating.

Because the clinic induced the posts and shape their content, the reviews were treated as the clinic's own advertising. With no disclosure that the posts were bought, ordinary consumers could not tell they were business displays, which is exactly the stealth-marketing designation the Act targets.

On 6 June 2024 the Consumer Affairs Agency issued an administrative order under Article 5(3) of the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations. The order covered 45 Google accounts that posted from 8 December 2023 onward — 35 reviews still live at the time of the order and 10 already removed.