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Selling toys and children's products in Japan

In Japan, toys that infants may put in their mouths fall under the Food Sanitation Act, with standards and an import notification at an MHLW quarantine station. The Consumer Product Safety Act adds specified children's products, which carry an age standard, warnings and a mark. Electrical and radio toys also meet PSE and the Radio Act.

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

Infant toys
Food Sanitation Act (食品衛生法), Article 68
Import
Notification to an MHLW quarantine station
Children's products
Specified children's products (子供用特定製品), Consumer Product Safety Act
Serious incidents
Reported to the CAA within 10 days
Electrical toys
Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act (PSE)
Radio toys
Radio Act (電波法)

Before a product goes on sale

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

  1. 1Is it a toy designated under the Food Sanitation Act because infants may touch or mouth it? Read more
  2. 2Is each import for sale notified to a quarantine station? Read more
  3. 3Is it a specified children's product, needing an age standard, warnings and a mark? Read more
  4. 4Does it plug in, use a battery or transmit radio waves? Read more
  5. 5Who reports a serious incident, and to whom? Read more

The rules, by area

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

Toys under the Food Sanitation Act

Why some toys are treated like food utensils.

  • The Food Sanitation Act applies to toys designated by MHLW as likely to harm the health of infants who touch them, as it does to food (Article 68(1)).
  • For these toys, the Act's ban on harmful products, its standards and specifications, and its import notification apply.
  • Specifications and standards cover the toys themselves, their materials and the additives used, including chemically synthesised compounds.
  • Toys that do not meet the standards must not be made, imported or sold.

How we help: Compliant Always reads your test reports against the standards that apply to the toy and its materials, with the source beside each. Ask about this

Import notification

How infant toys come into Japan.

  • A person importing designated toys for sale notifies each import to an MHLW quarantine station (Article 27, applied by Article 68).
  • MHLW's import pages list toys for infants among the goods that need the notification, with food, additives, apparatus and containers.
  • The quarantine station checks the notification and may order an inspection before the goods are released.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the test reports and material declarations each shipment needs with the product, and shows what expires before the next one. Ask about this

Specified children's products

Age standards, warnings and marks under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

  • The first products designated under the 2024 amendments are toys for infants, limited to those designed to be played with mainly at home by infants under 36 months; infant beds moved into the same category. The amended Act and the toy designation are in force from 25 December 2025.
  • Overseas businesses selling direct to consumers in Japan, for example through online marketplaces, can file the notification themselves but appoint a responsible person in Japan.
  • The Consumer Product Safety Act (消費生活用製品安全法) designates specified children's products, products mainly used by children, where use by children of the wrong age is likely to cause harm.
  • Technical standards for these products include an age standard (使用年齢基準) for the children who use them (Article 3(2)).
  • A manufacturer or importer notifies the government, conforms to the standards, shows the use age and warnings, and marks the product (Articles 12-2 and 13).
  • Specified children's products without the mark must not be sold or displayed for sale (Article 4(2)).
  • An overseas business selling directly into Japan appoints a domestic administrator (国内管理人) in Japan.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the notification, the conformity records and the label with the use age and warnings with each product, and shows what is missing. Ask about this

Electrical and radio toys

When a toy also falls under electrical and radio law.

  • Toys that are electrical appliances under the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act (電気用品安全法) meet its technical standards and carry the PSE mark before sale.
  • Toys with radio transmitters use equipment conforming to the technical regulations under the Radio Act, labelled as such, or need a radio station licence.
  • Extremely weak radio stations are exempt from the licence under Article 4 of the Radio Act.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps PSE records and radio conformity certificates with the toy that uses each part. Ask about this

Incidents and recalls

What a manufacturer or importer reports when a child is hurt.

  • Manufacturers and importers report serious product incidents, such as deaths, residual disabilities, 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 (Article 35).
  • Other incidents may be reported to NITE, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation.
  • Manufacturers and importers make efforts to recall products that caused serious incidents, and the government may order measures to prevent hazards (Articles 38 and 39).

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

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ImporterThe import notification for infant toys, PSC notification, the mark and incident reports.Test reports and certificates read and dated before the goods ship.
ManufacturerMeeting the standards, the age standard, warnings and marks, and incident reports.Conformity records kept with each product.
Domestic administratorActing in Japan for an overseas business selling directly to Japanese consumers.The appointment and the records it holds kept with the product file.
Retailer or online marketplaceNot selling specified products without the mark.Suppliers' marks and documents checked before listing.

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.

Shipping out of Japan?

Exporting toys from Japan

Questions businesses ask

Do toys need an import notification in Japan?
Toys designated under the Food Sanitation Act, those likely to harm infants who touch them, need a notification to an MHLW quarantine station for each import for sale.
Why are toys covered by the Food Sanitation Act?
Infants put toys in their mouths. Article 68(1) applies the Act's ban on harmful products, standards and import notification to toys designated by MHLW.
Are toy materials and paints regulated?
Yes. The specifications and standards for designated toys cover the toys, their materials and the additives used, including chemically synthesised compounds.
What is a specified children's product in Japan?
A product mainly used by children, designated under the Consumer Product Safety Act because use by children of the wrong age is likely to cause harm. It needs an age standard, warnings and a mark.
Can specified children's products be sold without a mark?
No. Article 4(2) of the Consumer Product Safety Act prohibits selling or displaying them for sale without the mark.
Do overseas sellers need someone in Japan?
An overseas business selling specified products directly into Japan appoints a domestic administrator in Japan under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Do electronic toys need PSE marking?
Toys that are electrical appliances under the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act meet its technical standards and carry the PSE mark before they are sold.
Do radio-controlled toys need certification?
They use radio equipment conforming to the technical regulations under the Radio Act, labelled as such, unless they qualify as extremely weak radio stations.
How quickly must a serious toy incident be reported?
Within 10 days of the manufacturer or importer learning of it, to the Consumer Affairs Agency, under Article 35 of the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Which toys are specified products for children in Japan?
From 25 December 2025, toys for infants under 36 months designed to be played with mainly at home are specified products for children. Manufacturers and importers meet the technical standards and label the intended age and use precautions, or the products may not be sold.
Can an overseas online seller notify toys in Japan itself?
METI says overseas businesses selling direct to consumers in Japan can file the notification themselves, but must appoint a responsible person in Japan, a domestic supervisor, who can be named publicly with the seller if the rules are broken.
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.

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