At a time when the market is flooded by disposable goods, products are appearing in increasing number that run counter to conventional wisdom by offering long-term guarantees and repair services. Such products can be seen as a preparation for the Product Liability Law, which went into effect in July 1995, although they also suggest that manufacturers are beginning to reassess their approach toward turning out goods.
A good example of the trend toward offering products with long-term guarantees is a wristwatch put on sale by a leading watchmaker in May with a 10-year gratuitous guarantee and life-long repairs. In other words, the manufacturer will provide repairs free of charge for any fault that occurs naturally during the first 10 years after purchase and will preserve parts for a long period of time so that repair work can be provided anytime after the eleventh year. This long-term guarantee is extremely rare; usually watches are guaranteed for only one year.
At 100,000 yen, this new product may strike some as being rather expensive, especially since there are many disposable watches available that are cheap, light, and highly functional. Many users appear to believe, however, that it might be cheaper in the long run to buy a good watch, use it for a long time, and pass it on to a child in the future.
Fountain pens usually have a gratuitous guarantee of one year, too, but recently products have appeared with a two-year guarantee. Apparently the manufacturers that have switched to this method are prepared to accept the burden of extra repair costs as a strategy for surviving in the fountain-pen market.
Manufacturers also have begun to extend their guarantee periods for goods with a longer life span, such as household electric appliances and automobiles. In addition, some dealers noticeably have begun to offer a special service for imported cars, by which, in exchange for an initial small contract fee, they guarantee to carry out repairs and maintenance inspections free of charge for a certain period of time.
Products with long-term guarantees have also appeared in the field of housing, which is a good example of a product that is used for a long time. A prefab house put on the market in January has both a 10-year gratuitous guarantee and a repair management system for long-term maintenance. The system has several unique characteristics; for example, spares for parts with a relatively short life span are stored immediately outside the building so that repairs can be carried out easily.
This move to extend guarantees and repair services seems to have been brought about by the enforcement of the Product Liability Law, which stipulates that consumers can demand compensation from a manufacturer for damage to body or property caused by a faulty product and that, in demanding compensation, consumers only have to prove that the faulty product was the cause of the accident; they do not have to go as far as proving that the cause of the accident was an error by the manufacturer. Manufacturers apparently hope that dialogue with customers boosted by the long-term guarantee system will help them to prevent accidents with their products or, if an accident does occur, will lead to a quick settlement.
(The above article, edited by Japan Echo Inc., is based on domestic Japanese news sources. It is offered for reference purposes and does not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.)