Japan updated its guidelines for companies providing data to the GHS programme

In June 2022 the Japanese Ministry for Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Ministry of the Environment (MOE) together with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (JNIOSH) and the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) of Japan launched a project with the goal of collecting test results and hazard data on chemical substances from the private sector.  The data information will be collected by NITE via its online platform.

Since 2006 a government Globally Harmonised System (GHS) of classification and labelling of chemicals project has been run by the MHLW, METI, MOE, and other relevant ministries to implement classification of chemical substances. So far GHS classification results for 3,300 substances have been published based on the knowledge of experts who use evaluation documents and books prepared by public institutions such as international organizations and major countries as basis information for classification. It is the hope that the new project will enhance communication on hazards from private business operators and that the hazards of currently unclassified substances and substances whose hazards have not been determined due to lack of information will be properly understood.

On 1 June 2023, NITE changed some requirements for companies voluntarily submitting chemical hazard information, to improve risk management in the workplace. The changes are:

1. Test information sourced from non-GLP (Good Laboratory Practise) laboratories will now be accepted by the project. The following requirements must be met for test reports to be regarded extremely dependable.

• Physico-chemical hazards: Tests carried out in accordance with the test procedures outlined by international organisations and standard organisations like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), and United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNRTDG).
• Hazardous to human health: The test substance has a certain level of purity in accordance with internationally recognized test methods such as OECD test guidelines (preferably conducted in a GLP-compliant test facility).
• Environmental hazards: The test substance has a certain level of purity in accordance with internationally recognized test methods such as OECD test guidelines (preferably conducted in a GLP-compliant test facility).

2. Companies had the possibility to notify NITE of their intention to provide information by 30 June 2023 but were not required to do so.

3. NITE will advise companies on how to submit documents of 400 megabytes (MB) or more.

4. If a company chooses to submit information, it must do so by 31 October 2023, using the NITE platform.

In addition to test information, this project also collects safety data sheets (SDS) that reflect GHS classification results using test information. Submission of an SDS is not mandatory, but it will serve as a reference for actual classification in the government's GHS classification project. The provided SDS will be used as reference information in the GHS classification project by the government but will not be posted on the NITE website or made available to the public.