'Where does it say that?' Ask who said it, when, and based on what.
Go back to the original document (the primary source).
Finding Financial Information and Advice
Where to Look When You Don't Understand
We will learn how to verify things that catch our attention in the news or in solicitations by checking with official sources and experts.
Time to read the text: about 10 min
The review questions are optional and not included in this time.
What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
After purchase, you can read the full text once your access starts.
A 3-Minute Guide: How to Check Facts and Where to Get Advice
1See it
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Questioning something is different from rejecting it.
Go back to the primary source, highlight what you understand, and apply it to your own situation.
There are 4 places to start your research: statistics, laws, central bank explanations, and consultations.
For numbers, check statistics. For rules, check the law itself.
For trouble with shopping or contracts, call 188. They'll direct you to your local consumer center.
For suspicious phone calls, dial #9110.
If you have a legal problem and don't know where to go, Houterasu can guide you.
If you can't understand your pension notice, call the Nenkin Dial.
With experts, first check if their service is free or paid, and whose side they're on.
Who pays their fee tells you whose side they are on.
From October 1, 2023
Hidden promotions that look like regular posts are against the law. Ask, 'Who paid for this?'
The regulations apply to the business that is advertising.
When you see a number, check 4 things: the date, the unit, the total it's part of, and the source.
For example, you can compare call charges by converting them to a per-minute rate.
Official websites change. When you note down a number, add the date you found it.
Phone numbers and the names of help desks can change.
2In numbers
33yen
Consumer Hotline call charge converted to a per-minute rate (from a mobile phone)
3What would you do?
Someone you met on social media offers you an investment opportunity. The post isn't labeled as an 'Ad'. What's the first thing you do?
Pick one
Assume it's just their opinion and believe it.
When something isn't marked as an ad, people tend to think it's just someone's opinion and accept it at face value. The first step is to ask, 'Who paid for this?'
Check with the Financial Services Agency to see if the company is registered.
This is what it means to go back to the primary source. The Financial Services Agency gets many inquiries about investment offers from social media contacts. They also have a hotline for fraudulent schemes, and you can call even if you're just suspicious.
Who wrote it? Who paid for it? How old is the information? Before you call a number, jot down the date you found it.
4Read more
Suppose a note at hand has the number of the consultation line of the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan written on it. You do not remember when you wrote it.
Open the Center's page, and it gives the backup consultation number as 03-3446-0999, open weekdays from 10:00 to 16:00, and says the telephone number changed on 3 December 2025 (Reiwa 7). If your note is older than that, it may point to the old number.
The discipline for reading historical sources works in this scene too: who wrote it, when, and on what basis. Your note is a secondary source you wrote yourself; the page is a primary source issued by the body that runs the line.
This course takes up, in order, how to find primary sources, the four entrances to public bodies (statistics, laws, central bank explainers, consultation), a map of where to seek advice, and how to use professionals. Even across countries, the principle is shared: the entrance depends on the kind of problem, and you read whether advice is free or paid and whose side the adviser stands on.
Finally, you take home four questions to check things yourself: point in time, unit, denominator, source.
What you will understand after this course
- Can analyze information relevant to daily life by asking "who, when, and on what basis," and can trace it back to the primary source.
- Can select the appropriate one from four starting points—statistics, laws and regulations, central bank publications, and consumer advisory services—to answer their own questions.
- Can name one official advisory service in Japan and in another country, relevant to a specific type of problem.
More about this course
Course number: P9 — Where to Look When You Don't Understand
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 6 exercises · 2 coins · 3 readings How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- Can, before consulting an expert, independently verify whether the service is free or paid and whose interests the expert represents.
You can start this course without reading any other course.
Also worth reading, to see the connections (optional)
- Fraud Schemes and How to Protect Yourself
What you learn: Be able to apply the four signs of a scam (impersonating an organization, a problem or a prize, time pressure, a specific payment method) even to tactics seen for the first time.
Assessment
6 exercises in this course (4 check, 0 compare, 2 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 8 chapters of this course
- Start with "Who wrote it?" — Applying primary and secondary sources to everyday information"Who, when, and on what basis?" When reading a secondary source, keep its potential for distortion in mind, and draw your conclusions only after returning to the primary source.
- Use public institutions through four gateways — statistics, laws and regulations, the central bank, and consultationFor numbers, statistics; for rules, legal texts; for the system, central bank explanations; for problems, consultation. There are four entry points.
- Map of Consultation Services (Japan) — Different Doors for Different Problems188, #9110, the Financial Services Agency, Nenkin Dial, and Houterasu. There are five doors. They do not necessarily solve the problem themselves; some services are there to provide guidance.
- Map of where to get help (other countries) — Common principles, different points of entryIn the US, it's the FTC and CFPB; in the UK, Report Fraud; in the EU, your national ECC. Although their structures differ, the principle of first asking "Have you contacted the other party?" is common to all.
- How to use an expert — Free or paid, and whose side they are onFree or paid? Who pays? Is there an institution that publishes a list of qualifications and disciplinary actions? These three things, before you take a seat.
- Discerning Information — Advertisements, Affiliates, Social Media, and Generated TextWho paid? If it is marked as an "advertisement," read it with the understanding that it may be exaggerated. If not, verify it yourself.
- Four things to verify yourself — time point, unit, denominator, and source.Time point, unit, denominator, and source. Normalize numbers with different denominators before comparing them, and keep a record of the formula used for normalization.
- Official Information Also Changes — The Habit of Noting the Date You Read ItOfficial pages also change. Note the date you read phone numbers and opening hours, and check again on the day you use them.
Readings (3)
- The Mongol invasions Japan 1274 Hakata Bay, Chikuzen
Section 1. An example of a single sentence containing three caveats. When reading information about daily life, use the same critical eye to identify such caveats. - The Ōnin War and the coin Japan 1500 Shijo, Kyoto
Section 2. How to handle a figure that comes from a single historical source. Interpreting numbers that have only one origin. - A history of false money Overview: the world AD 1699 Newton versus Chaloner
Sections 3 & 4. It is not the stamp but enforcement that protects trust. The system functions because there is a channel for reporting and complaints.
Read next
Connecting Cash, Deposits, and the Central Bank →What you learn next: Can distinguish between banknotes in a wallet and deposits in an account based on whose liability they are.
Time to read the text: about 12 min ／ What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
Price
After purchase, the full courses, the illustrated books, every country’s story and the numismatics examination are open to you.
See the price →