Recently, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan released reporting guidelines regarding the manufacturing/import quantity for general chemicals, priority assessment chemicals, and monitoring chemicals. It aims to enhance the management of chemicals that pose potential environmental risks. The guidelines require companies that manufacture or import general chemicals, priority assessment chemicals of 1 ton or more, or monitoring chemicals of 1 kilogram or more during the fiscal year 2023 (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024), to submit a detailed report to the METI.
According to the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL), general chemicals refer to those not categorized into other specific types, usually with relatively minor environmental impacts. Priority assessment chemicals are those that, due to their environmental persistence, bioaccumulativeness, or potential high risk to human health, require priority assessment. Monitoring chemicals require special monitoring due to their environmental persistence and bioaccumulativeness. These substances can be searched for free through the ChemRadar GCIS: https://hgt.cirs-group.com/
Notes:
Reporting information includes corporate identification number, responsible department, name and contact details of the person in charge, substance name, CAS number, public name, MITI number, manufacturing or import quantity, use number, and specific uses, etc.
Submission method and schedule for reporting：
| Submission Method | Schedule |
| Using the government’s e-Gov website | April 1 to July 31, 2024 |
| Optical disc by mail | April 1 to July 31, 2024 |
| Document by mail | April 1 to June 30, 2024 |
Some specific substances do not require reporting, with CAS numbers as follows:
4615-11-6, 4615-13-8, 6203-63-0, 6203-64-1, 7355-88-6, 13502-13-1, 13502-15-3,13502-20-0, 13513-23-0, 13513-24-1, 13513-36-5, 13513-40-1, 13513-47-8, 20275-74-5, 65412-44-4, 93941-93-6, 189313-53-9.
Potential fines for failing to submit the reports:
Companies that meet the tonnage requirements but fail to report may face a fine of 200,000 yen if they manufacture or import general chemicals, or 300,000 yen if they manufacture or import priority assessment chemicals and monitoring chemicals.
CIRS reminds relevant enterprises to ensure the reporting of the above chemicals in time to avoid unnecessary penalties or trade losses.
