Japan's Electric Power Companies Push Ahead with Smart Meter Installation
by Kato Yasuko
Journalist, Editorial Board Member of Japan Consumer Federation
(in Consumer Union of Japan, "Shohisha Report", No. 1698, October 20, 2025, p.8)
(translation by Patricia Ormsby)
Electric Power Company Demands Household Electric Use Time Log
The switch to smart meters has been proceeding in recent years across Japan. Smart meters measure electricity usage and transmit
the data to the power company, using radiofrequency radiation. This causes persons with electrohypersensitivity (EHS) to experience
health issues such as dizziness, balance disorders, headaches and insomnia.
Ms. A, who lives in the Chubu region of central Japan, is made ill by electromagnetic radiation (EMR), so she has been continuing to use
an analog meter, but the meter's expiration date was in March of this year. Under Japan's Measurement Act, electricity meters are supposed
to be replaced every 10 years, so Ms. A contacted Chubu Electric Power Grid Co. and requested that they replace it with another analog meter,
but they required her to accept installation of a smart meter with the transmission device removed instead.
However, Ms. A says, "I have heard of people reporting negative health impacts from smart meters, even with the transmitter removed, and there
have been many electrical fires caused by smart meters, so I do not want to use one."
Photo The analog meter Ms. A purchased.
If Ms. A continues to use her analog meter past its expiry date, the company says that for the first year, they will charge her the same amount
each month as in the same month of the previous year, but after that, they will require Ms. A to submit a log of her usage of electrical appliances,
what time she uses them and for how long.
Ms. A purchased an analog meter from the company that had been manufacturing them for Chubu Electric Power Grid Co. This was the same model
that they had used before, but they refused to install it for her.
I contacted the company and asked them "Don’t you think it is unreasonable to ask a normal consumer to keep an accurate record of their electric
power usage?" Their reply, full of legalistic jargon, was "When a meter cannot be installed, the provisions regarding payment for consignments,
supply, etc. (statute on fees, supply conditions, etc.) stipulate that the amount of electric power is to be determined through consultation with
the customer." They also said, "We are not considering allowing the use of analog meters for measuring usage."
Ms. A says, "Freedom of choice is a consumer right. Measures forcing the adoption of choices that impact life and health are ridiculous."
Fee to be Charged to Customers Refusing Smart Meters
As of 2023, the number of cases of consumers in Japan refusing smart meters that transmit data, like Ms. A, who is using an analog meter or those
using smart meters with the transmission unit removed had reached about 41,000 (see Fig. 1).
The Agency of Natural Resources and Energy has established a "smart meter opt-out system," under which they have decided that people refusing
transmission-enabled smart meters are to be charged 44,000 yen (roughly $300) as a lump sum fee starting from April 2028. This fee covers personnel
expenses for meter reading for ten years and the cost of removing the transmitter, and will also be charged to people currently using analog meters.
Fig.1 Numbers of customers refusing smart meter installation (FY2023).
(Source: Agency of Natural Resources and Energy data.)
It will be levied against each electricity meter, so if the user relocates and chooses to opt out again, they will have to pay the fee once again.
In such cases, the power company would be double-charging for personnel expenses.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US, it is prohibited to charge fees for "reasonable accommodation" to eliminate social barriers that
would hinder the lives of persons with disabilities. One utility was taken to court for charging an opt-out fee to a person with EHS and had to repay
the full amount with interest.
There is a possibility that EHS would be recognized as a disability under Japan's Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities.
If persons with EHS request an opt-out as a reasonable accommodation, would it not be an infringement of this Act for an electric power company to charge
a fee for it? To this query, the Cabinet Officer in charge of measures for persons with disabilities replied, "In Japan it is not illegal to charge fees
for reasonable accommodations. Regarding specific details in individual cases, the Cabinet Office is unable to make judgements, so we ask you to consult
with the Liaison Office that handles consultations regarding this law."
I wish the Cabinet Office would be more proactive in its efforts to protect persons with disabilities.
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