What ACAP does

ACAP (公益社団法人消費者関連専門家会議 / Association of Consumer Affairs Professionals) is a Japanese public interest incorporated association founded in 1980 to promote consumer-oriented management (消費者志向経営) and support consumer affairs professionals. The organization serves approximately 478-483 regular corporate member companies spanning manufacturing, food, insurance, and services industries, plus secondary constituents in government agencies, educational institutions, and individual professionals. ACAP celebrated its 45th anniversary in October 2025.

The association operates a multi-service platform comprising structured training programs (研修), regular meetings held across Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka (例会), independent research groups and industry exchanges (自主研究会), ISO 10002/JIS Q 10002 certification support, customer harassment countermeasures, and business consulting services. ACAP maintains the ACAP研究所 (ACAP Research Institute, established 2007), which anchors three specialized research groups covering CX innovation, elderly customer response, and global media/AI applications. The organization publishes an ISO 10002 guideline book (¥4,400) and a customer harassment handbook (¥1,980) containing 50 case studies, and runs the 41-year "My Proposals" essay competition whose top prize is awarded by the Cabinet Office.

Revenue is generated primarily through standardized annual membership fees (¥120,000 per regular corporate member plus ¥30,000 entrance fee; ¥100,000 for supporting members; ¥3,000 for general members), supplemented by training/seminar fees, publication sales, consulting engagements, and instructor dispatch programs. Distribution occurs through a Tokyo headquarters, an Osaka regional office, Zoom webinars, a member-only FORUM portal, and a multi-channel presence (Facebook, Instagram, email newsletter, website). ACAP holds institutional partnerships with Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency (消費者庁), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省), the National Consumer Affairs Center, and a network of partner universities.

Name

ACAP

Legal name

公益社団法人消費者関連専門家会議

Website

https://acap.or.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ACAP is a Japanese public interest incorporated association founded in 1980, serving approximately 478 corporate members across manufacturing, food, insurance, and services industries. It provides training, research, networking, ISO 10002 certification support, and customer harassment countermeasures to consumer affairs professionals in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ACAP generates revenue primarily through membership fees from three tiers: 正会員 (Regular Members - corporations with consumer affairs departments), 一般会員 (General Members - individuals), and 賛助会員 (Supporting Members - corporations supporting ACAP's mission). Regular membership is the primary revenue stream with annual fees of 120,000 yen per company plus 30,000 yen entrance fee.
2. Training and Seminar Fees: Revenue from training programs, workshops, and seminars offered to member companies at discounted rates and to non-members at standard rates. ACAP provides customer harassment prevention training, telephone response coaching, legal response training, and other professional development programs.
3. Publication Sales: Sale of books and publications including the ISO 10002:2018/JIS Q 10002:2019 guideline book (4,400 yen) and the customer harassment handbook (1,980 yen for non-members, 1,881 yen for members).
4. Consulting Services: Business consulting services for companies seeking to establish or strengthen consumer affairs departments, including individual consultations, lecturer dispatch services, and customized training program development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ACAP (Association of Consumer Affairs Professionals) is a public interest incorporated association that delivers membership-based professional services to Japanese companies with consumer affairs and customer service departments. Its core offerings include structured training programs, monthly regular meetings across four Japanese cities, independent industry research groups, ISO 10002/JIS Q 10002 certification support, customer harassment countermeasures, and business consulting. ACAP also publishes books, runs an annual consumer essay competition, and operates the ACAP Research Institute which conducts proprietary surveys on consumer response systems, CX innovation, and AI utilization.

Product overview

ACAP is a public interest incorporated association that operates as a multi-service consumer affairs professional organization, offering a unified platform of services including training programs, regular meetings, industry research groups, ISO 10002 certification support, and business consulting. The organization maintains a research institute (ACAP研究所) with three specialized research groups focused on CX innovation, elderly customer response, and global media/AI applications. Key publications include the ISO 10002 management system guide and customer harassment handbook. Additional services include virtual factory tours, the annual 'My Proposals' consumer advocacy essay program, and instructor dispatch services for consumer education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACAP研究所 (ACAP Research Institute): Research institute established in 2007 for consumer affairs research, conducting surveys and studies on consumer trends, AI utilization, CX, and elderly customer service.

Products and services

• Training Programs (研修) Layered training programs for consumer-related personnel, including basic training by hierarchy and specialized skills training by theme. Programs cover customer harassment countermeasures, telephone response coaching, monitoring and coaching, legal response training, and concise interaction-log writing, delivered both in-person and as web training. Intended for member company consumer affairs and customer service staff.
• Regular Meetings (例会) Monthly regular meetings held in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka featuring member company case studies and external expert lectures. Designed for ACAP corporate members as a cross-industry knowledge exchange forum. Special lectures (特別例会) feature government officials and industry experts on priority consumer affairs topics.
• Independent Research Groups and Industry Exchanges (自主研究会・業種交流会) Research groups and peer groups focused on consumer response and risk management, where members voluntarily conduct study and information exchange. Provides structured peer benchmarking for member companies across industries.
• ISO 10002 / JIS Q 10002 Promotion and Support Service Training and implementation support for ISO 10002:2018 / JIS Q 10002:2019 Customer Complaint Handling Management System. Includes dissemination events, training, and direct support for member companies pursuing certification.
• Customer Harassment Countermeasures Program (カスタマーハラスメント対策) Specialized content on customer harassment countermeasures including published columns, training programs, and consulting. Supports member companies in developing frameworks to prevent and respond to customer harassment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
• Business Consulting Services (事業者相談事業) Consulting services for consumer-oriented management, establishment of consumer response departments, and staff development. Includes individual consultations, lecturer dispatch, and customized training program development. Intended for companies seeking to establish or strengthen consumer affairs functions.
• Virtual Factory Tours (バーチャル工場見学) Curated links to member company virtual factory tour content, organized by category for consumer education purposes. Provides consumers with educational access to how member companies manufacture products.
• My Proposals Essay Competition (わたしの提言) Annual essay competition on consumer issues, open to the general public, with the top prize awarded by the Minister for Consumer Affairs. Operated since 1985 as ACAP's flagship consumer advocacy program.
• ACAP Research Institute (ACAP研究所) Research institute conducting surveys on corporate consumer response systems, consumer trends, AI utilization, CX, and elderly customer service. Hosts three specialized research groups and publishes research reports available to member companies.
• Instructor Dispatch Service (講師派遣サービス) Dispatch of experienced member lecturers to universities, consumer centers, and local governments for consumer education programs and academic courses. Targets educational institutions needing practitioner-level consumer affairs expertise.
• ISO 10002 Complaint Handling Management System Guidebook A4-size, 96-page guidebook explaining ISO 10002:2018 / JIS Q 10002:2019 Customer Complaint Handling Management System standards, including compliance conditions and operational points. Sold directly through the ACAP website for 4,400 yen (tax included, shipping separate).
• Customer Harassment Handbook (悪質クレーム対応実務ハンドブック) 192-page practical handbook for customer harassment countermeasures with 50 case studies across 8 industry categories. Published in August 2022 by PHP研究所. Sold for 1,980 yen to the general public and 1,881 yen to ACAP members (tax included, shipping separate).

Quantifiable outcome

• 78.8% response rate achieved in 2024 consumer affairs survey
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Consumer Affairs Agency (消費者庁)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2026ACAP collaborates with the Consumer Affairs Agency on consumer education initiatives, policy discussions, and joint seminars. The agency participates in ACAP events as a speaker and ACAP dispatches committee members to agency advisory councils.
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACAP works with MHLW on customer harassment prevention initiatives and labor policy related to consumer affairs professionals. Agency officials speak at ACAP events and collaborate on guideline development.
• National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (独立行政法人国民生活センター)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACAP holds regular exchange meetings with NCAC's Consultation Information Department to share information and collaborate on consumer affairs research and education initiatives.
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACAP collaborates with METI's Consumer Affairs Office on consumer protection policies and exchanges information through regular meetings.
• University Partner NetworksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerACAP partners with universities including 大東文化大学, 立正大学, 目白大学, 甲南女子大学, and 関西学院大学 for collaborative courses and lecturer dispatch programs on consumer affairs topics.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ICMI (International Customer Management Institute): ICMI is a professional association for customer management and contact center leaders. Directly comparable to ACAP because both target customer service professionals with training, certifications, events, and research — ICMI is a global peer while ACAP serves Japan only.
• Customer Contact Association (CCA): CCA is a global professional association for customer contact and customer service leaders. Comparable to ACAP because both serve customer service operations professionals with training, events, research, and benchmarking — CCA is the closest global analog to ACAP's consumer affairs focus.
• Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA): CXPA is a global non-profit membership organization for customer experience professionals. Directly comparable to ACAP because both serve as the professional home for CX practitioners, offering training, certification (CCXP), research, and member networking — though CXPA is global and ACAP is Japan-focused.
• Japanese Standards Association (JSA / 日本規格協会): JSA is a Japanese non-profit organization responsible for national and international standards development, including ISO promotion. Comparable to ACAP because both are non-profit, membership-based associations that promote ISO standards (JSA handles ISO generally; ACAP focuses on ISO 10002 Customer Complaint Management), offer training, certification support, and publications.

Others

• National Standards Bodies / ISO Promotion Bodies (e.g., BSI, ANSI, DIN): National standards bodies in other countries (BSI in UK, ANSI in US, DIN in Germany) promote ISO standards and offer training. Comparable to ACAP as adjacent standards-promotion organizations, though they are typically larger and cover the full ISO suite rather than specializing in consumer complaint handling like ACAP's ISO 10002 focus.

Broad incumbents

• Japan Management Association (JMA / 日本能率協会): JMA is a major Japanese business association offering training, research, consulting, and certification across management disciplines. Comparable to ACAP as a larger, broader-scoped peer using the same membership + training + research model, though JMA covers management broadly while ACAP specializes in consumer affairs.
• Japan Productivity Center (日本生産性本部): Japan Productivity Center is a leading non-profit Japanese association promoting productivity and management best practices. Comparable to ACAP as a similarly structured public-interest organization offering training, research, and consulting, but with a broader management focus rather than consumer affairs specialization.
• DMB (Data & Marketing Association) / DMA: DMA is a US-based membership association for marketing and customer engagement professionals, offering training, certification, research, and advocacy. Comparable to ACAP as a similarly structured professional association serving customer-facing corporate functions, with a broader marketing/data focus rather than consumer affairs specialization.

Emerging players

• American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI): ACSI is a US-based organization that produces customer satisfaction benchmarks and CX research. Comparable to ACAP as a CX research-focused organization that produces proprietary indices and consulting insights, though ACSI is primarily a measurement brand while ACAP is a broader membership association.

Regional players

• Japan Marketing Association (日本マーケティング協会): Japan Marketing Association is a Japanese professional association offering marketing training, research, and certification. Comparable to ACAP as a similarly structured membership-based association in Japan delivering training and research, but focused on marketing rather than consumer affairs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/acapsns
• Instagraminstagram.com/acapfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACAP