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Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has announced that it will hold a public consultation in December 2025, in order to update the list of chemicals and mixtures that require safety data sheets (SDS) and labelling. The consultation notice was released on the MHLW portal. Labelling based on the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) is required under the Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL).

The public consultation is scheduled for 9 December 2025 and can be attended online via Webex or Teams. Opinions can be submitted until 5 December 2025. Non-Japanese importers and manufacturers operating in Japan are invited to take part by offering feedback on the draft proposal. In order to take part in the consultation, stakeholders must register.

Previous consultation in September 2024

Earlier on September 2024, the MHLW opened consultation to add 155 chemicals to the list. At the same time, 2 chemicals would be eliminated from the list. More details can be found here.

Classification List Update

The MHLW is considering adding 36 chemicals to the list of substances that are currently classified until 31 March 2025. Previously, the list was expanded to include compounds categorized until 31 March 2024.

Enforcement Dates

The 36 chemicals are scheduled to be added to the list by April 2028. The list of chemicals can be found here.

On 27 October 2025, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Ministry of Environment (MOE), acting as a joint council, published the consultation schedule for toxicity assessments of new chemical substances. The schedule was released on the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) portal. New chemical substances are those not yet listed in the Existing and New Chemical Substances inventory (ENCS).

Purpose

The consultation schedule is intended to assist companies plan requests for expert consultation to verify the scientific validity of their non-standard methods (such as analogue methods and QSAR) used to assess degradability, accumulation, and toxicity before notifying a new chemical substance under the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL). 

Schedule

Obligations for the Stakeholders

Under the CSCL, manufacturers and importers must notify new chemical substances which are not yet listed on the ENCS to the MHLW, METI and MoE. Companies must apply for consultation using the analogy table template and consultation summary form available on the website of the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) before the deadline, so that their assessment can be validated before the notification process.