Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 384 | Classification | MOC-12 MHW-187 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | October 13, 1989 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Economic Planning Agency |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Construction Ministry of Health and Welfare |
Related Laws | Sewerage Law Building Standards Law Waterworks Law |
| Complainant | US firm | Exporting Countries | USA |
| Subject | With regard to using permits for water-saving toilet stools that use compressed air: 1. Use permit for water-saving toilet stools (using less than 2 liters of water) with the wastewater going to the sewage 2. Easing installation requirements for the Japanese-style stool that uses a plastic bowl to the same level of requirements for Japanese stools 3. Use permit in the case brass-used valves cause no malfunction |
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| Details of Measures | 1. The Ministry of Construction explained to the complainant in November 1989 that there are no restrictions as to the use of the stools outside the disposal area based on the Sewerage Law (sewage disposal areas) and that as to the use in the sewage disposal areas, each local government, which is the sewage administrator, implements regulations by setting forth specific standards with regard to structures, etc., of drainage pipes and flush toilets in accordance with its respective ordinance or guideline in order to prevent accidents such as blockades of pipe lines. In September 1990, the Special Grievance Resolution Meeting heard from the complainant what he had to say and following the hearing, the Ministry made the explanation again in October 1990 and, since the flush toilet in question is quite a new type and in view of the need to check whether or not the use of it in the sewage disposal areas causes troubles in the maintenance and control of sewage, requested the complainant to submit (1) test results concerning the technical aspect of conveyance distance, etc. of the stool in question conducted by public organs of the U.S. and (2) materials on the cases of connections of the stools to sewage (limited to final sewage works) in the U.S. At the same time, the Ministry explained that it would study the case after receiving the materials, to which the complainant consented. The response to the request came in August 1991 but Ministry's study of the contents of the response found that they failed to answer directly to neither (1) nor (2). Therefore, the Ministry again asked the complainant to submit materials. The response to the request came in November 1991, but the Ministry's study of the contents of the response found that they again failed to answer directly to neither (1) nor (2). Therefore, in the same month, the Ministry again asked the complainant to submit materials and, in December 1991, met with the complainant directly and once again urged the complainant to make a clear response promptly. The Ministry takes the stance of dealing with the case upon submission of the materials by the complainant. However, since more than one year has passed since the request for the material submission was made, the Ministry, at a meeting of the Grievance Special Committee in January 1992, reported how it was going to deal with the case in the future and, after the meeting, notified the complainant that unless the materials (1) and (2) are submitted within one month, the case would be treated as having been processed. As the Ministry did not receive clear responses to the (1) and (2) as of the end of February 1992, it, with the consent of the Special Grievance Resolution Meeting, treated the case as having been processed. 2. The complainant notified the Ministry of its suspension of production and sales of the Japanese-type stools for the Japanese market. 3. The Japan Sewage Works Association, in light of no sanitary problems in using brass valves, replied that it changed the standards on April 26, 1990 to allow the use of brass valves. |
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| Classification of Processing | 1. D 2. D 3. A |
Directions | 1. I-a 2. I-b 3. I-a |
| Remarks | 3. Improvement measures were taken on April 26, 1990. | ||