Japan publishes the Schedule for Notifications of New Chemicals for 2023

On 9 September 2022, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) jointly published the Notification Schedule for Manufacture and Import of New Chemical Substances for 2023.

The three ministries announced that companies must provide the necessary information via electronic notifications on the website of the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE). It is mandatory to include following information in the Notification:

• company name and address  
• the name of the responsible agent or notifier 
• the substance information such as name of substance or compound, chemical structure and formula, uses, expected volume of production or import for the next three years, relevant test results, etc. 

If companies need clarifications on any of the requirements, they can submit their request via enquiry forms on the METI and the NITE websites.

The Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL) divides chemicals into existing and new chemicals. New chemicals must also be notified to, and evaluated by, METI for their biodegradation, bioaccumulation and toxicity to humans and the environment before and after they are placed on the market.

New Chemical Notification Schedule for 2023

Furthermore, the ministries said that they plan to release the 2024 schedule by September 2023.