On September 19, 2025, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly released the schedule for the manufacture and import notification procedures related to new chemical substances for the 2026 fiscal year.
According to the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL), if a company receives a judgment notification confirming a substance as a new chemical substance requiring notification for its manufacture or import, it must submit a notification or application (hereinafter referred to as a new substance notification) under the law and undergo a review regarding the properties of the substance. The acceptance schedule for 2026 new substance notifications is as follows.
Schedule for New Substance Notification Acceptance
|
Acceptance Period |
Preliminary Review Document Submission Deadline |
Notification Date (Deadline for Submission of Notification Forms, etc.) |
|
1st Period |
October 6, 2025 |
December 19, 2025 |
|
2nd Period |
December 18, 2025 |
March 5, 2026 |
|
3rd Period |
January 8, 2026 |
April 3, 2026 |
|
4th Period |
February 10, 2026 |
May 11, 2026 |
|
5th Period |
March 16, 2026 |
June 16, 2026 |
|
6th Period |
April 15, 2026 |
July 9, 2026 |
|
7th Period |
June 9, 2026 |
August 31, 2026 |
|
8th Period |
July 8, 2026 |
October 2, 2026 |
|
9th Period |
July 30, 2026 |
October 26, 2026 |
|
10th Period |
September 9, 2026 |
December 1, 2026 |
Explanatory Notes
- Regarding Submission of Preliminary Review Documents
The examination of substance properties, etc., is conducted in two stages: preliminary review and council review. Companies initiate the preliminary review process by first submitting preliminary review documents. If planning to make a new substance notification, please register and submit the preliminary notification documents via the CSCL Contact System on the NITE website. Submit the preliminary review documents to the NITE Chemical Management Center by the respective preliminary review document submission deadline.
- Regarding the Notification Date
The Notification Date refers to the final deadline for submitting the new chemical substance manufacture or import notification form or application form after the preliminary review is concluded and before the council review begins.
Furthermore, if a judgment for a new substance notification has already been completed and the result notified for a specific new chemical substance, other companies planning to manufacture or import the same substance may be exempt from the preliminary and council review processes. They need only submit their notification form, accompanied by a copy of the judgment notification for that substance, by the notification deadline of any acceptance period.
- Reference Materials
For detailed information on the preparation and submission methods for preliminary review documents, as well as procedures for new substance notifications, please refer to the following document:
Preparation and Submission of Documents for New Chemical Substance Notifications under the Chemical Substances Control Law, etc.
Announcement Timing for Next Fiscal Year's Schedule
The schedule for the manufacture and import notifications of new chemical substances for the 2027 fiscal year is anticipated to be announced around September 2026.
