(ECNS) -- Many Chinese tourists have fallen victim to shopping scams perpetrated by tour guides and local duty-free stores in Japan, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Some Chinese tourists complained they had bought Nattokinase, enzymes, and deep sea fish oil products recommended by tour guides or shopping guides. The tourists later discovered they had paid far more than the market value for the products, according to the report.
The healthcare products were touted as medicines, with exaggerated effects, approved by Japan's drug authorities, and sold for around 80,000 Japanese yen ($754) for a package containing four packs.
Tourists paid 240,000 Japanese yen for all three products, a total of 12 packs, and the products were non-refundable.
In contrast, enzymes are usually priced at just several thousand Japanese yen at local drug stores.
The duty-free stores in question are open only to Chinese tour groups and not to Japanese or individual tourists, according to Xinhua.
Tour guides led Chinese tourists to the same store at the same time in order to create an illusion of demand, the report said.
The Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan have repeatedly filed complaints to Japan's consumer and tourism authorities over the scams, but the Japanese authorities replied that they could do nothing to stop such behavior.
Last year, 4.99 million Chinese visited Japan, spending 1.42 trillion Japanese yen, or an average of 284,000 Japanese yen per person, both topping tourists from other countries.
A Chinese tourist surnamed Zhang, who had been cheated out of nearly 40,000 yuan, told Xinhua that they "will not come to Japan again."
