Nara Prefecture sues JTB for new corona business - JATA Chairman Takahashi (JTB President) declares eradication of fraud in March
Nara Prefecture announced on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 that it plans to file a lawsuit in June against the JTB Nara Branch seeking damages of 63.75 million yen due to overpayments in a new coronavirus-related business.
As for the overpayment, when Nara Prefecture re-inspected the new coronavirus-related business in January this year, it was discovered that there was a discrepancy between the performance report submitted by the JTB Nara Branch and the actual work situation. Nara Prefecture has asked JTB Nara Branch for a refund, but the company has not responded. The governor of Nara Prefecture expressed his anger at a press conference, saying, "I feel resentful." In response to Nara Prefecture's claims, JTB says that the amount is charged based on the contract. Nara Prefecture plans to submit a lawsuit-related bill to the prefectural assembly in June.
According to Nara Prefecture, between 2021 ~ 2023, there is a possibility of overpayment of up to about 213 million yen in a total of 19 businesses, including restaurant certification for corona countermeasures, entrusted by the JTB Nara Branch.
Major travel agencies have been found to be fraudulent in the business of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Japan Tourism Agency during the Corona disaster, and trust in the travel industry has declined. However, as travel booms with the convergence of Corona, JTB said on May 24 that sales for FY2023 reached 1 trillion yen announcement Have. Shortly thereafter, Nara Prefecture announced JTB's lawsuit.
| December 19, 2023 [Independent Survey] End of 2023 400 consumers look back on the fraud problem in the "travel industry" and their next concerns and expectations - Industry trust level declines by 40% ( ※ ） |
JATA-Japan Association of Travel Agents (Chairman Hiroyuki Takahashi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JTB), an industry group of major travel companies, established an expert committee in December 2023 following a series of fraudulent activities by member companies. In his New Year's message for 2024, he emphasized the importance of compliance, and when a report on recurrence prevention was held with the expert committee in March, Chairman Takahashi said, "I will take the lead in implementing countermeasures to eradicate fraud from the travel industry." Declaration of Determination It was.
