Provisional Translation

OTO No. 662 Classification MLIT-(5)
METI-(4)
MAFF-(9)
Date of Acceptance June 2, 2003 Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint JETRO
Responsible Ministries Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation;
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry;
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 		Related Laws Building Standards Law
Industrial Standards Law
Law Concerning Standardization And Proper Labeling Of Agricultural And Forestry Products
Complainant Foreign firm Exporting Countries Canada
Subject Reduction of burdens related to screening, procedure, and JIS or JAS inspection of imported building materials
Description of Complaint 1. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Notification No. 1113 (dated Dec. 26, 2002)
The above is a notification concerning building materials that emit type-I formaldehyde. It says that the revised Building Standards Law concerning sick house will go into effect on July 1, 2003. The JIS A 1901:2003 "ADPAC (advanced pollution and air quality chamber) - a method to measure the radiation of volatile compounds, formaldehyde and other carbonyl compounds from building materials," which is a test method based on the notification was issued on Jan. 20, 2003. However, the date when the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation published the examination method (draft) for formaldehyde-emitting building materials was March 7, 2003, nearly three months after the issuance of the notification.
2. For traders who export building materials to Japan from abroad, it is virtually impossible to complete all necessary screening, procedures and certification acquisition in such a short period of time. In view of the following problems involved, the action of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation can be seen as an attempt to shut out imports of housing materials from abroad.
1) The period until the enforcement day was too short.
2) English-language JIS (JIS A 1901:2003) has yet to be published.
3) There are only several testing organizations that can conduct JIS or JAS tests abroad. In Canada, only Canadian Plywood Association is accredited to do so and the type of items that the association can test is limited to only plywood and some other building materials.
4) In North America, there is MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) with regard to@dangerous materials subject to regulation. It is prepared by a fair third party to help facilitate safety measures at workshop. However, the guidance for the "examination of formaldehyde-emitting building material" issued by the Building Guidance Division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation on April 9, 2003 does not accept MSDA as fair data on the grounds that data acceptable as fair is limited to "those examined by designated performance assessment organizations based on the Building Standards Law, by organizations that can be designated as performance assessment organizations, or by JAS registered foreign organizations (only the Canadian Plywood Association in Canada)."
3. Therefore, we want the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to implement the following measures as soon as possible.
(1) The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation should put off the enforcement date at least one more year.
(2) The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry should translate JIS (JIS A 1901:2003) into English as soon as possible.
(3) The number of overseas inspection organizations should be increased as soon as possible. That is to say, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation should increase the number of "designated performance assessment organizations based on the Building Standards Law and organizations that can be designated as performance assessment organizations" as soon as possible. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries should increase the number of overseas inspection organizations that can conduct JIS and JAS tests abroad.
(4) The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation should accept MSDS data that is generally accepted in North America as official data in Japan.
Details of Measures (The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries replied as follows:)
Registration of a foreign organization as a Registered Foreign Rating Organization or Registered Foreign Certification Organization has as a precondition that the country in which the organization exists be designated by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as a country that has an agricultural- and forestry-product rating system equivalent to the JAS system pursuant to Article 19-6-2 and Article 19-6-4 of the JAS Law.
At present (as of June 10, 2003), five countries - the U.S., Canada, Australia, Norway, and Indonesia - are designated by ordinances of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishers as countries having a forestry product rating system equivalent to the JAS system. Eight organizations(*) in those countries listed in the attached slip are registered as Registered Foreign Certification Organizations. (No organization is registered as a Registered Foreign Rating Organization.)
When application for the registration as a Registered Foreign Rating Organization or Registered Foreign Certification Organization are made by individual organizations in the five countries, examinations will be carried out on the organizations in question based on the JAS Law.
Please let us know if there is an organization wishing to be registered as a Registered Foreign Rating Organization or Registered Foreign Certification Organization.

(The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation replied as follows;)
(1) On July 12, 2002, a law to revise part of the Building Standards Law concerning sick house measures was promulgated and it was decided to put the law into effect within one year. Therefore, the enforcement day cannot be put off. Incidentally, the date when the "examination method (draft) for formaldehyde-emitting building materials" was published in the ministry's Web site was January 24, 2003, not March 7, 2003.
(2) As a result of the revision of the Building Standards Law in 1998, it has become possible to undergo technical assessment by an overseas performance assessment organization approved by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation with regard to technical standards of architectural structures, etc. prescribed by the Building Standards Law and regulations. Approval as a performance assessment organization is made upon application by overseas organizations. We presented to the Canadian government through the Canadian embassy in Japan detailed Japanese-language materials concerning rules about procedures for approval as a performance assessment organization early in 2003 and English-language materials outlining the revised Building Standards Law and regulations in May.(**)
(3) The revised Building Standards Law and regulations specifically prescribe the type of building materials subject to restriction by the speed of formaldehyde emission. However, MSDS does not have data on formaldehyde-emission speed. Therefore, it is impossible to determine the type of the building materials in question.

(The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry replied as follows;)
For English translation of JIS as mentioned in 3(2):
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has just established JIS A1901 based on the Industrial Standardization Law and made it public through the Official Gazette on January 20, 2003. JIS after the establishment is available for search through database on the website of the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (http://www.jisc.go.jp).
The Japanese Standards Association (http://www.jsa.or.jp), which is the publisher of JIS separate volumes, translates JIS as its independent activity, and the ministry understands that the English translation of JIS A1901 will be published on June 30.

For reduction of the burden of JIS tests as mentioned in 3(3):
As mentioned below, under the JIS mark certification system, certification bodies certify factories that produce specific items related to JIS. The system is not for certifying performance assessment tests for materials, etc. that are described on the written request.
In addition, "JIS A 1901: 2003" stipulates a method to measure the radiation of formaldehyde, and it is not an item subject to the JIS mark. Therefore, it is not subject to certification by JIS mark certification bodies.
Incidentally, there is a mention that only one body has been accredited in Canada, but no Canadian body has been accredited under the system of the ministry.
The JIS mark certification system, which is a voluntary system based on the Industrial Standardization Law, allows factories certified by the competent minister or a certification body designated (approved (for foreign organizations)) by the competent minister (referred to as designated (approved) certification bodies) to indicate JIS marks on their specific products (items) produced in compliance with JIS and processing technology (types) in compliance with JIS. (Items (types) subject to the JIS mark certification system are designated by the competent minister from among industrial products for which JIS has been established.)
Manufacturers that wish to indicate JIS marks on their products file applications with respect to each item (type)/each factory. Relevant factories receive examination on their technical capacity to continue to manufacture products compliant with JIS, and the manufacturers are allowed to indicate JIS marks on relevant products only when the factories' capacity is confirmed and certified.
Classification of Processing Processed
(October 27, 2003) 		Directions II-a
II-b
Remarks The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: A written reply was made on June 6, 2003.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation: A written reply was made on June 10, 2003.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: A written reply was made on June 26, 2003.
(*) The number of Registered Foreign Certification Organizations was ten as of May 31, 2004.
(**) A manual of procedures for applying for approval as a performance assessment organization was prepared in English and distributed (June-July 2003), as well as published on the website (August 2003).
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