Japan’s parliament passed on 8 December a bill that will prohibit ticket scalping for concerts and sports events in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The legislation bans the resale of tickets at prices higher than their original ones and taking possession of tickets for the purpose of scalping. Violators of the new law will face a jail term of up to one year or fines of up to 1 million yen ($8,800), or both.

In Japan, there had been no law to control online scalping of tickets for popular events. Ticket brokering was prohibited on streets and other public places under local ordinances.

To prevent resale of tickets for profit, the organizing committee of the Games had called for tougher regulations. Subject to the ban are tickets that designate seats or the name of spectators in advance.

The law also requires event organizers to make efforts to identify ticket holders.