News Details

On 20 February 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) published the final amended version of the Guidelines for Notification of Alternative Names, etc. of Notifiable Substances under the Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA). The guidelines were promulgated on the same day via Japan’s e-GOV Public Comment Portal.  

Regulatory Background 

The MHLW has issued guidelines allowing companies to use alternative chemical names when reporting substances under the amended Industrial Safety and Health Act. As the regulatory system expands to cover about 2,900 substances by April 2026, alternative names may be used to protect trade secrets, provided risk assessment and worker safety are not adversely affected. 

Public Consultation in October 2025 

On 17 October 2025, Japan opened a public consultation on the draft revised guidelines on the notification of alternative names through the e-GOV portal. The consultation ended on 16 November 2025. More details can be found here. 

Scope of Application: 

Alternative names may be used only if: 

• The substance is not subject to special strict regulations or concentration standards under ISHL. 

• It is not classified as highly hazardous (e.g., carcinogenic, mutagenic, reproductive toxic, high acute toxicity, or belonging to Category 1 serious hazard classes). 

• Its concentration in mixtures is below specified hazard thresholds. 

Enforcement Dates 

According to the final promulgated order, enforcement is scheduled to take effect on 1 April 2026.