# Cold outreach regulations in Japan and domestic company practices: GPT-6.1 Sol · Ultra (OpenAI)

AI-generated answer, not verified by Dorado, shown as produced. Asked 5 October 2026.
Source: the AI Report Library, https://aireportlibrary.com/en/prompt/japan-cold-outreach/regulations/compare/
Comparison: https://dorado-group.jp/library/comparisons/japan-cold-outreach-regulations/
The cited links have not been checked.

## The question, as asked

What's the cold outreach regulations in Japan? and how do domestic companies deal with it?

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## GPT-6.1 Sol · Ultra (OpenAI)

AI-generated, unverified. Asked 2026-10-05.

**Cold outreach is possible in Japan, including business-to-business (B2B) sales. But there is no blanket B2B exemption from the email rules.** The key is whether you have consent or qualify for a specific exception. [e-Gov 法令検索](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/414AC0100000026?occasion_date=20180418\&utm_source=chatgpt.com)

For email, the main law is the **Act on Regulation of Transmission of Specified Electronic Mail (特定電子メール法)**. Promotional email generally requires prior opt-in. A personalized sales pitch does not automatically escape the rules. [caa.go.jp](https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_transaction/specifed_email/pdf/110831kouhyou_2.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

| Situation | Position under the email law |
|---|---|
| **A company publicly lists its business email address online**, such as `info@company.jp` | Can qualify for the exception allowing unsolicited promotional email. |
| The published address has **“営業メールお断り”**, or another clear refusal of advertising email | The public-address exception does **not** apply. [迷惑メール相談センター](https://www.dekyo.or.jp/soudan/contents/taisaku/1-2.html?rd=1\&utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| You **guess an employee’s address**, buy it, or obtain it through enrichment | That alone establishes neither consent nor an exception. You need a separate qualifying basis. [e-Gov 法令検索](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/414AC0100000026?occasion_date=20180418\&utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| The recipient **directly gives you their email address on a business card** | Can qualify for an exception, subject to refusal handling. [caa.go.jp](https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_transaction/specifed_email/pdf/specifed_email_180709_0001.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| You have an **existing transaction relationship** | Can qualify. A single past purchase does not necessarily establish the required relationship. [caa.go.jp](https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_transaction/specifed_email/pdf/110831kouhyou_2.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| The recipient tells you to stop | Further promotional email against that request is prohibited, including when your initial email qualified for an exception. [e-Gov 法令検索](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/414AC0100000026?occasion_date=20180418\&utm_source=chatgpt.com) |

The public-address exception in the first row is expressly explained by Japan’s official spam consultation center. [迷惑メール相談センター](https://www.dekyo.or.jp/soudan/contents/taisaku/1-2.html?rd=1\&utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Even when an exception applies, promotional emails need the responsible sender’s identity, an accessible opt-out email address or URL, clear opt-out wording, and required address/contact information. **An unsubscribe link does not, by itself, authorize the first email.** Consent-based sending also requires retaining evidence of consent. Overseas promotional emails arriving in Japan are covered too. [caa.go.jp](https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_transaction/specifed_email/pdf/specifed_email_180709_0001.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Other channels differ:

- **B2B cold calls:** Genuine business-purpose contracts are generally excluded from the Specified Commercial Transactions Act’s consumer telemarketing provisions. Calling someone at work does not automatically make a consumer sale B2B.
- **Consumer telemarketing:** Disclose the company, caller, product/service type and sales purpose before solicitation. Continuing or repeating solicitation after refusal is prohibited. [no-trouble.caa.go.jp](https://www.no-trouble.caa.go.jp/what/telemarketing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- **LinkedIn messages:** In-platform messaging is generally distinct from conventional email, but platform restrictions apply. LinkedIn expressly treats excessive, irrelevant or repetitive messages as spam. [内閣府](https://www.cao.go.jp/consumer/iinkaikouhyou/2023/0810_iken.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

There is also a separate privacy layer: **named contacts and identifiable work email addresses can be personal information under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI), even when publicly available.** Public availability does not remove privacy obligations. [ppc.go.jp](https://www.ppc.go.jp/all_faq_index/faq1-q1-4/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

**Japanese companies use several documented approaches:**

| Approach | Concrete domestic example |
|---|---|
| **Obtain permission before mailing existing contacts** | **Chiba Television** consulted counsel about reusing business-card data. Its December 2021 case study describes approximately 30,000 recorded cards, but initial mailing to approximately 10,000 customers whose permission sales staff had obtained. [マーケティングオートメーションツール SATORI](https://satori.marketing/case/chibatv/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| **Nurture business-card and customer lists** | **JoB-up** describes weekly emails followed by individualized outreach based on website activity. The case documents its workflow; it does not establish every recipient’s legal basis. [bow-now.jp](https://bow-now.jp/media/cases/job-up/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| **Combine phone prospecting and contact-form sales** | **GC Story** used Sales Marker’s form submissions and outsourced appointment-setting calls for customer development. [株式会社Sales Marker(セールスマーカー)](https://corp.sales-marker.jp/gc-story-20240523/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |
| **Build refusal controls into form outreach** | **Smart Kaitaku** says it excludes forms marked “営業お断り,” includes suppression links, and avoids resending to the same company for one month. That interval is its operating policy, rather than a statutory permission to resend. [smartkaitaku.com](https://smartkaitaku.com/form/faq.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |

**Contact-form sales exists commercially, but I found no official blanket ruling that every form submission is lawful.** A vendor offering it is not sufficient legal assurance.

For your HubSpot setup, there is an additional constraint: its **February 2026 anti-spam policy requires express, verifiable consent through a documented opt-in process**, with limited exceptions. An email may qualify under Japan’s public-address exception yet still breach HubSpot’s sending policy. [legal.hubspot.com](https://legal.hubspot.com/anti-spam-policy?utm_source=chatgpt.com)