| TOP |
| 5th Report of Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 17, 1998) |
1. Complainant: Tokyo Chamber of Commerce
2. Ministry concerned:Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Home Affairs
3. Complaint:
For overseas manufacturers, the acquisition of Japan's certification for construction materials, etc. involves time and expense. In keeping, for materials in conformance with ASTM and other overseas standards, adoption of a mutual recognition system or harmonization of the domestic standards (such as in the Building Standards Law and Fire Services Law) with the international standards should be aimed at and certification work simplified.
4. Corresponding Policy of the Ministries concerned:
(1) At present, to study procedure of accepting overseas building materials upon request, if conditions such as assurance of standard performance and rules of international sharing of responsibility are satisfied. Specifically for wood frame construction (two-by-four construction methods, etc.), building materials conforming to overseas standard shall be generally accepted if they satisfy requirements stipulated in the Japanese wood frame construction technical standard. To the present, U.S. and Canadian lumber has generally been accepted.
In terms of simplifying the certification work, "Guideline for dealing with Test Result" was established in October of 1994, and concerning performance testing for building materials, construction methods, rationally conducted based on the Building Standards Law, the results of testing conducted by a testing organization that satisfies the set conditions for testing systems and the like are being accepted without making inquiries on domestic or overseas status. And, in order to both ensure non-discriminatory practices in terms of domestic or overseas status for standards and certification in the construction field, from the standpoint of aiming for international accord of the standards and certification system, "Guideline for designating Testing Organizations" was established and the designation procedure clarified, using international standards (ISO/IEC Guide 25) as a reference. To the present, as of December 1995, a Canadian testing organization has been designated.
The plan is to publicize accepted test results and the like in July of 1998 via the Internet, etc.
[Ministry of Construction]
(2) To promote internationalization, we have been taking active part in the expert committees of ISO (International Organization for Standardization), TC21 (fire-fighting equipment), TC38/SC19 (fiber combustion action), TC92 (fire prevention testing) TC94 (protective garments), TC145 (safety sign, etc.) ISO meetings and the like.
Moreover, overseas materials for use in fire defense equipment and the like recognized as equal or superior to the domestic standards (JIS, etc.) are being accepted as appropriate.
[Ministry of Home Affairs]
5. Remarks
The complainant's opinion is as follows.
"I understand that this is the policy as it now stands."