1.
penalty fee; cancellation fee
A fee charged when breaking or canceling a contract before its term ends, common with phone contracts, gym memberships, and rental agreements.
Usage
違約金 is common in Japanese service contracts. Phone contracts traditionally had 2-year terms (2年縛り) with significant cancellation fees, but since a 2019 rule change the fee for ending a phone contract early is capped at a small amount, and many plans have none.