Overview

• On September 19, the Consumer Affairs Agency recognized improvement plans from Ajinomoto and consulting firm Inglewood for a jointly operated frozen‑food delivery service.
• Regulators say the companies provided free products in May–August 2024 on condition that third parties post on Instagram, then republished those posts on their sales site as user impressions.
• The conduct is treated as suspected stealth marketing under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations.
• Ajinomoto acknowledged it did not indicate that the Instagram posts were advertisements.
• Inglewood’s separate Mitsuboshi Farm service also drew suspicion for reposting incentivized content from October 2023 to August 2024, and both firms’ plans include prevention measures and consumer outreach.