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On 31 July 2025, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and Ministry of Environment (MOE) jointly announced the addition of 157 new substances to the General Chemical Substance List under the Chemical Substance Control Law (CSCL). It has been determined that six of these substances pose major risks to both human health and the environment.

Previous update in July 2024

Earlier on 31 July 2024, Japan added 164 chemicals to the general chemical substance list & identified 3 chemicals with high toxicity profile. More details can be found here.

Classification of General Chemical Substances

Chemicals that are first submitted to the government for assessment and then monitored for five years are considered new substances, according to the CSCL. Chemicals that do not pose a significant risk are added to the list as "newly announced substances" and given the designation of general chemical substances following this evaluation period.

Notification Obligations for Manufacturers and Importers

Businesses must notify METI if they produce or import general chemicals in amounts of one tonne or more throughout the year. Even after these chemicals are included to the list of general chemical substances, this requirement guarantees that they are continuously reviewed.

Addition of Highly Toxic Chemicals

Six of the recently added chemicals have been identified as extremely toxic:

• Mixture of (1-)ammonium diaquabis(oxalato-kappa(2)O,O') oxidoniobate and (1-)ammonium diaquabis(oxalato-kappa(2)O,O') oxidoniobate-water(1/n)
• Disilver ethynediide
• Bis[4-({6-[(prop-2-enoyl)oxy]hexyl}oxy)phenyl] 2-{[(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)(6-{[(naphthalen-1-yl)acetyl]oxy}hexyl)hydrazinylidene]methyl}-1,4-phenylene bis[(1r,4r)-cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxylate]
• 5,11,14,17-Tetrakis[(dimethylsilyl)oxy]-1,3,5,7,9,11,14,17-octaphenyltricyclo[7.3.3.3(3,7)]octasiloxane
• 4-[1-(2,3-Dimethylphenyl)ethyl]-1H-imidazole
• Copolymer of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl 2-methylprop-2-enoate / N-benzyl-N,N-dimethyl-2-[(2-methylprop-2-enoyl)oxy]ethan-1-aminium chloride (It is limited that the content of the components having molecular weight less than 1,000 is 1% or less.)

Assessment results published

Additionally METI released the assessment results of these chemicals for bioaccumulation and degradability on the same day they were added to the list. The list of added chemicals can be found here.

On 25 July 2025, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) published draft ordinance for amending the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances List on the country’s e-Gov Public Comment Portal. Fenazaquin has been proposed to get added, whereas formulations containing sodium chlorate or sodium bicarbonate scheduled to get removed from the list. Furthermore, Japan notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) on August 1, 2025, of a draft designating fenazaquin as a deleterious substance.

Poisonous and Deleterious Substances List

The Poisonous and Deleterious Substances List under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act (PDSCA) classifies chemicals based on their toxicity and health risks, categorizing them as "poisonous" or "deleterious." These substances are regulated for safe handling, storage, and transportation to prevent accidents and ensure public safety. Updated regularly by Japan's MHLW, new substances are added based on scientific evidence. The regulations include safety procedures such as labelling, record-keeping, and reporting to minimize health and environmental risks. Currently there are 587 entries present on the list.

Key Insights from the Draft Ordinance

Draft ordinance proposes the following amendments to the list of Deleterious Substances:

• 4-[2-(4-tert-Butylphenyl)ethoxy]quinazoline (Fenazaquin) (CAS: 120928-09-8) and its preparations (except from those with a concentration ≤19.4%) have been designated as a new deleterious substance.
• Taking a formulation off the list: Made with sodium bicarbonate (27–37%) (CAS: 144-55-8) and sodium chlorate (47.5–52.5%) (CAS: 7775-09–9), except powdered versions.

It was determined that fenazaquin posed a significant risk of acute toxicity upon exposure, supporting its designation as a deleterious substance. On the other hand, it was found that the sodium chlorate/sodium bicarbonate formulation had far lower toxicity, which justified its removal from the list.

Obligations for the Stakeholders

Manufacturers, importers, and distributors of the Poisonous and Deleterious Substances must register their substances with the MHLW and comply with Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and Labelling regulations.

Comment Period and Enforcement Dates

Stakeholders are requested to comment on the draft till 24 August 2025. While as per WTO notification, members can comment on the WTO draft till 30 September 2025. Final ordinance will be published in late October 2025. Enforcement is scheduled to be from 1 November 2025 (Except for delisting of entries which will come into effect on the same day of ordinance publication).