News Details

On 31 July 2026, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), and Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly announced the addition of 38 new substances to the General Chemical Substance List under the Chemical Substance Control Law (CSCL). Under CSCL, chemical substances submitted for evaluation are monitored for five years. Substances that do not present significant concern following the evaluation period are added to the General Chemical Substances List as "newly announced substances".  

Five of the 38 substances were designated as Specified General Chemical Substances, a category for substances identified as posing significant risks to both human health and the living environment. 

The Existing and New Chemical Substances (ENCS) inventory is maintained under the CSCL and includes both existing chemicals and newly notified chemicals. Currently there are 28,737 chemicals listed. 

Previous update in July 2025 

Earlier on 31 July 2025, Japan added 157 chemicals to the General Chemical Substance List and identified six substances as Specified General Chemical Substances with high toxicity profile. More information can be accessed here. 

Notification Obligations for Manufacturers and Importers 

Manufacturers and importers are obliged to submit annual reports to METI if they produce or import general chemicals in amounts of one tonne or more per the year. This obligation remains in force even after substances are added to the General Chemical Substance List, ensuring ongoing oversight. 

Five Substances Designated as Specified General Chemical Substances 

Five of the 38 newly added chemicals were designated as Specified General Chemical Substances. These are: 

• Polycondensation products of 2-(chloromethyl)oxirane / 4,4'-(hexafluoropropane-2,2-diyl)diphenol 

• alpha-{3-[N,N-Dimethyl-6-(N-methylmethanaminiumyl)hexan-1-aminiumyl]-2-hydroxypropyl}-omega-[2-(2,3-dihydroxypropoxy)ethoxy]poly[oxyethane-1,2-diyloxy(2-hydroxypropane-1,3-diyl)(dimethylazaniumdiyl)hexane-1,6-diyl(dimethylazaniumdiyl)(2-hydroxypropane-1,3-diyl) sulfate] sulfate (It is limited that the content of the components having molecular weight less than 1,000 is 10% or less.)  

• alpha-{3-[N,N-Dimethyl-3-(N-methylmethanaminiumyl)propan-1-aminiumyl]-2-hydroxypropyl}-omega-[2-(2,3-dihydroxypropoxy)ethoxy]poly[oxyethane-1,2-diyloxy(2-hydroxypropane-1,3-diyl)(dimethylazaniumdiyl)propane-1,3-diyl(dimethylazaniumdiyl)(2-hydroxypropane-1,3-diyl) sulfate] sulfate (It is limited that the content of the components having molecular weight less than 1,000 is 10% or less.)  

• Polyaddition products of [polycondensation products of (polycondensation products of ammonia / 1,2-dichloroethane) / tall oil fatty acid / tall oil rosin / 1,1'-(phenylene)dimethanamine / (trimer acid (which consists of C=54 as a major component), which obtained as trimer of unsaturated fatty acid(C=18)) / (dimer acid (which consists of C=36 as a major component), which is obtained as a dimer of unsaturated fatty acid(C=18))] / [polycondensation products of (chloromethyl)oxirane / 4,4'-(propane-2,2-diyl)diphenol]  

• Disilver(I) tetraoxidomolybdate 

Publication of Assessment Results 

On the same day, METI also published the bioaccumulation and degradability assessment for the 38 newly announced substances. All 38 substances were determined to be poorly biodegradable but not highly bioaccumulative. The judgement results can be accessed here.