Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 655 | Classification | MLIT-(1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | October 15, 2002 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Cabinet Office |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport | Related Laws |
|
| Complainant | Domestic individual | Exporting Countries | |
| Subject | Fair management of the quality housing components certification system | ||
| Description of Complaint | 1. The Center for Better Living under the control of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been a designated housing performance evaluation body under the Housing Quality Assurance Act (1999 Law No. 81) and a designated performance evaluation body under the Building Standards Law (1950 Law No. 201). Its certification services have been used widely, exerting a very great influence on domestic and foreign businesses and consumers. 2. The CBL's "quality housing components certification system" is designed to certify and spread housing components that are excellent in quality, performance and after-sale services in order to promote the development of quality housing components and the protection of consumers. The certification system covers a wide range of housing components including foreign products as well as domestic goods. The system has been modified many times since its inception in 1974. A modification in April 1999 has required the CBL to conduct an annual surveillance to reaffirm the maintenance of certifications. 3. However, the CBL failed to implement the surveillance for most certifications over the period between April 2000 and September 2002, when the surveillance had been required. (It failed to implement the surveillance for 218 of the 266 certifications subject to reaffirmation.) In this respect, the complainant's complaint led the CBL to present a notice (on a delay and early implementation of the surveillance) on its Internet homepage. But the CBL's credibility has declined. 4. The surveillance is designed to regularly check whether certificated housing components have maintained their excellent performance and production quality. Its implementation is an internationally common practice for this kind of certification scheme. The CBL's failure to implement the surveillance means that consumers cannot rely on the CBL's BL (better living) labeling on products that were manufactured or imported during the period in which the surveillance was absent. This can fundamentally affect the credibility of the CBL's certifications. 5. The CBL and its supervisor, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, should clearly indicate measures to prevent such failure (preventive steps), and specify and promptly implement measures to allow consumers to confidently purchase products that were manufactured or imported during the period in which the surveillance was absent. |
||
| Details of Measures | The CBL is a nonprofit foundation established under the approval of the then Minister of Construction in 1973. Under the quality housing components certification system, the CBL has set quality housing components certification rules on its own to give certifications to housing components that are excellent in quality, performance and after-sale services and promote their diffusion. The system is aimed at promoting the improvement of dwellings and the protection of consumers. The CBL's quality housing components certification rules provide for certification standards, applications for certifications, labeling of quality housing components, the reaffirmation of certification maintenance (surveillance) and the like. The CBL failed to implement the surveillance as required for most of certifications in fiscal 2000 and 2001. The ministry has instructed the CBL to promptly implement the remaining part of the surveillance and swiftly improve its business practices. On its Internet homepage September 20, the CBL gave an apology and a notice on the implementation within the year. It has already been implementing the remaining part of the surveillance in a bid to complete the implementation within the year. The CBL has also reported that it would specify the surveillance in its business plans subject to the resolution at the Executive Board and the approval at the Board of Trustees, and develop a systematic surveillance implementation setup in order to appropriately implement the surveillance in the future. The quality housing components certification system subjects both domestic products and imports to certifications indiscriminately. |
||
| Classification of Processing | A | Directions | |
| Remarks | A written reply was made on October 23, 2002. | ||