Compliant Always
Get in touch

Selling cleaning products and detergents in Japan

In Japan, household detergents, cleansers and waxes carry a quality label under the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act, and liquid cleaners and aerosols must meet limits under the Act on Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances. Detergents for tableware, fruit and vegetables also fall under the Food Sanitation Act, and new chemical substances are notified before import.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Quality labelling
Household Goods Quality Labelling Act (家庭用品品質表示法)
Harmful substances
Act on Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances
Acid cleaners
10% or less as acid
Alkaline cleaners
5% or less as alkali
Dishwashing detergents
Food Sanitation Act standards
Who labels imports
A business in Japan

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is it a detergent, cleanser or wax designated for quality labelling? Read more
  2. 2Does it meet the limits for acids, alkalis, solvents and aerosol propellants? Read more
  3. 3Is it used for washing tableware, fruit or vegetables? Read more
  4. 4Does it contain a new chemical substance, or a Class I specified chemical? Read more
  5. 5How are incidents reported and products recalled? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Quality labelling

What the pack of a household cleaning product has to show.

  • Synthetic detergents and soaps for laundry or kitchen use, detergents for household or furniture use, cleansers and other polishing agents, and household or furniture waxes are designated goods under the Act.
  • A detergent label shows the product name, components, liquidity (液性, such as neutral or alkaline), net weight, usage, the estimated amount to use and precautions in use.
  • The labeller's name and address or phone number are added, shown where consumers can find them easily.
  • For imported goods, a business in Japan, the importer, seller or labelling contractor, becomes the labeller.
  • The Prime Minister or the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry may instruct a business to label correctly, and publish its name if it does not follow the instruction (Article 4).

How we help: Compliant Always sets your Japanese pack beside the labelling matters for its item, and records who in Japan is the labeller. Ask about this

Harmful substances

Limits on what household cleaners and aerosols may contain.

  • Manufacturers and importers must understand the effects on health of the substances in their household products and prevent damage to health (Article 3).
  • Liquid household cleaners with hydrogen chloride or sulphuric acid are limited to 10% or less as acid; those with potassium or sodium hydroxide to 5% or less as alkali.
  • Tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene are limited to 0.1% w/w in household cleaners and household aerosols.
  • In household aerosols, methanol is limited to 5% w/w and vinyl chloride must not be detected.
  • Products that do not meet the standards must not be sold or displayed for sale (Article 5), and MHLW or the prefecture may order a recall (Article 6).

How we help: Upload a formula or lab report and Compliant Always reads it against the limits for the product type, with the source beside each one. Ask about this

Detergents for tableware, fruit and vegetables

When a detergent is treated like food in law.

  • The Food Sanitation Act's ban on harmful products and its standards apply to detergents used for washing vegetables, fruits or tableware (Article 68(2)).
  • These detergents are outside the Act on Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances and the Consumer Product Safety Act, which leave them to the Food Sanitation Act.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the test reports showing the detergent meets the food sanitation standards with the product. Ask about this

Chemical substances

Notification of new substances, and banned ones.

  • A person who intends to manufacture or import a new chemical substance notifies the Ministers of Health, Labour and Welfare, Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Environment in advance (Article 3).
  • Importing a product specified by Cabinet Order that uses a Class I specified chemical substance is prohibited (Article 24).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each supplier's ingredient disclosure with the product, so a question about a substance is answered from the record. Ask about this

Product incidents

What a business reports when something goes wrong.

  • Manufacturers and importers of consumer products report serious product incidents, such as deaths, injuries needing 30 days or more of treatment, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning, to the Consumer Affairs Agency within 10 days of learning of them.
  • Products covered by other safety laws, such as detergents under the Food Sanitation Act, are outside the Consumer Product Safety Act.
  • Representations that make a product look significantly better than it is are prohibited under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations.

How we help: Compliant Always ties each document to the batch it covers, so a report or recall can be scoped from the record. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
LabellerThe quality label: a manufacturer, seller or contractor, and for imports a business in Japan.The label checked against its item's labelling matters.
Manufacturer or importerMeeting the harmful substance standards, chemical notifications and incident reports.Formulas and lab reports kept with each product.
SellerNot selling products that fail the standards.Suppliers' documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
Raw material supplierDisclosure of the substances it supplies.Disclosures collected once and shown to each customer that asks.

National law, prefectural enforcement

Product law in Japan is national. Ministries and the Consumer Affairs Agency set the standards; prefectural governors and cities with public health centres license food businesses, receive food recall notifications and carry out inspections.

Imports are checked at the border: food and food contact articles at MHLW quarantine stations, and liquor licences are granted by the tax office for each place of sale.

Questions businesses ask

What must a detergent label show in Japan?
Under the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act: the product name, components, liquidity, net weight, usage, estimated amount to use, precautions in use, and the labeller's name and address or phone number.
Who is the labeller for imported cleaning products?
A business in Japan: the importer, seller or labelling contractor, according to the CAA's handbook on the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act.
Are there limits on acid and alkaline cleaners in Japan?
Yes. Liquid household cleaners are limited to 10% or less as acid where they contain hydrogen chloride or sulphuric acid, and 5% or less as alkali where they contain potassium or sodium hydroxide.
Which solvents are restricted in household cleaners?
Tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, limited to 0.1% w/w in household cleaners and household aerosols under the regulation on household products containing harmful substances.
Are household aerosols regulated?
Yes. Methanol is limited to 5% w/w and vinyl chloride must not be detected, besides the solvent limits.
Are dishwashing detergents regulated differently?
Yes. Detergents for washing vegetables, fruits or tableware fall under the Food Sanitation Act, which applies its ban on harmful products and its standards to them (Article 68(2)).
Do I need to notify chemicals in a cleaning product?
A person manufacturing or importing a new chemical substance notifies three ministers in advance under the Act on the Regulation of Manufacture and Evaluation of Chemical Substances.
What if a cleaning product causes a serious accident?
Manufacturers and importers of consumer products report serious product incidents to the Consumer Affairs Agency within 10 days of learning of them, unless another safety law covers the product.
Can the authorities order a recall of a cleaner?
Yes. MHLW or the prefecture may order a recall of household products that fail the harmful substance standards where damage to health is likely (Article 6).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Japan?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the Japanese-language sources. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Japan and what your paperwork needs to show.

Get in touch

No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

Get in touch