Gov’t to Reduce Everyday Inconveniences for Consumers

The government is determined to reduce entrenched everyday inconveniences for consumers for which there no longer seems any justification. Contact lenses, for example, will finally be available to buy online, and the 40-year-old limit on duty-free perfumes will be raised.

Altogether there are 167 points on the agenda where red tape will be eased or restrictions eliminated, and 50 of them relate to everyday inconveniences.

The ban on buying contact lenses online has long baffled consumers. In 2011, online sales of contact lenses were banned to prevent harm or damage caused by unsafe and improper use, requiring purchases to be made from opticians.

But it is perfectly possible to buy contact lenses on overseas websites. The government plans to gradually allow online sales, starting with low-risk disposables from January.

Duty-free purchases of perfumes have for arcane reasons been restricted to 60 ml since 1979, but now the limit will be raised to 100 ml.

The government will also amend some 117 restrictions affecting small and medium-sized enterprises.

To address the labor shortage faced by small businesses, foreigners with E-9 non-professional employment visas will be allowed to work in restaurants rather than only in farming and fisheries.

The law also prohibits male and female teenagers from sharing a room in hostels and other commercial accommodation, and owners face penalties if they are caught. But now the government has decided to waive penalties at least in case teenagers lie about their age by using fake ID.

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