Japan's health ministry (MHLW) opened public comment on 20 October 2026 on seven chemical-safety drafts, most of which move the reference date for the national hazard classification from 31 March 2025 to 31 March 2026. Comment closes on 18 November, and submissions must be in Japanese. The ministry plans to publish the final texts in February 2027.
Skin protection and carcinogen records
Under the Industrial Safety and Health Regulations, employers must have workers use protective equipment, such as impermeable clothing, when handling chemicals clearly capable of harming skin or eyes, or clearly capable of causing health damage by being absorbed through or entering the skin. The draft first removes four substances, including lead(II) chloride, that the state reclassified between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 as no longer category 1; that takes effect on notification. It then resets the covered group to substances in category 1 as of 31 March 2026, applying from 1 April 2028. The ministry says the gap of about two years after the classification is meant to give businesses time to prepare safety data sheets (SDS).
The carcinogen rule follows the same pattern. Employers must keep health-check results for workers who regularly handle designated carcinogens for 30 years, and must keep periodic records of who handles them for 30 years. The draft moves the classification reference date for the designated group to 31 March 2026, applying from 1 April 2029.
Exposure limits and trade secrets
Diethyl phthalate is the one substance that leaves. The drafts would delete it, and its limit value, from the notice that sets exposure limits for 304 substances, and delete its sampling and analysis methods and limit from the related technical guidance. Both changes apply on notification. The ministry's summaries say the removals follow its proposed deletion of diethyl phthalate from the list of risk-assessment substances.
Suppliers may replace part of a chemical name in an SDS notice when the component is a trade secret and does not impede risk assessment. The draft widens the eligible group to substances that the classification work for the year to March 2026 newly cleared of the relevant hazard classes. Decanoic acid, previously category 1 for serious eye damage, is the ministry's example. Substances that move the other way get a transitional period to 31 March 2029.
The label package
The cabinet order and ministry ordinance carry the label and SDS duties, using Japan's classification method under JIS Z7252, which is built on the UN's Globally Harmonized System. Both are planned to take effect on 1 April 2029, and newly added substances already in existence get one year without the label duty after addition. The ordinance annex lists 35 additions and amends the names or scope of four entries. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage
A separate notice revises the content thresholds below which mixtures escape the label and SDS duties, also from 1 April 2029.
| Draft | Proposed change | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Skin and eye hazard notice | Drops four substances, including lead(II) chloride; resets scope to category 1 as of 31 March 2026 | Removals on notification; new scope from 1 April 2028 |
| Carcinogen notice | Moves classification reference date to 31 March 2026 | 1 April 2029 |
| Exposure-limit notice | Deletes diethyl phthalate and its limit value | On notification |
| Technical guidance | Deletes diethyl phthalate sampling, analysis methods and limit | On notification |
| Trade-secret name notice | Adds substances newly cleared in the 2026 classification work; transition to 31 March 2029 for others | On notification |
| Content-threshold notice | Revises thresholds below which mixtures are exempt from label and SDS duties | 1 April 2029 |
| Cabinet order and ordinance | Cutoff moves to 31 March 2026; 35 substances added, diethyl phthalate removed, four entries amended in name or scope | 1 April 2029; removal and two entry amendments on promulgation |
The next fixed date is 18 November, when comment closes. The first changes, including the skin-protection removals and the diethyl phthalate deletions, would apply on notification, planned for February 2027.