A charger (10) in one aspect of the present invention includes: a connecting portion (11A, 11B), two protection devices (32, 24; 46, 48), a charging device (18), a control device (30), and a voltage detection device (28). A first protection device (32; 46) is configured such that its power consumption in a charging inhibited state is lower than that in a charging permitted state. A second protection device (24; 48) is configured such that its power consumption in the permitted state is lower than that in the inhibited state. The control device (30) is configured to respectively set, when the battery (4) is not connected to the connecting portion (11A, 11B), the first protection device (32; 46) to the inhibited state and the second protection device(24; 48) to the permitted state, and thereafter switch, when the voltage value of the charging path detected by the voltage detection device (28) is equal to or greater than a predetermined specified voltage value, the second protection device (24; 48) to the inhibited state.