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The applicable legislation is the so-called Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL) which is mandatory since 1 April 2011.
Japan CSCL controls both new and existing substances. For new substances, a strict pre-manufacture evaluation system is implemented. For existing substances, manufacturers or importers are required to report their quantity and uses annually if the volume of manufacture (M) or importation (I) exceeds certain amount. CSCL also designates substances subject to priority risk assessment and prohibits some substances from M/I.
The applicable legislation is the so-called Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL) which is mandatory since 1972.
IHSL designates substances that are prohibited to manufacture or import, substances requiring permission and chemical substances requiring safety data sheets and labels. ISHL also controls new substances and requires manufacturers and importers to notify them to the Ministry of Labor and Welfare (MHLW) prior to production and importation.
The law concerning reporting, etc. of the release to the environment of specific chemical substances and promoting improvement in their management ("Law for PRTR and Promotion of Chemical Management" or "PRTR Law") was enacted in 1999.
This law requires businesses to report the release and transfer of chemical substances of concern (PRTR reporting) under the PRTR System and to provide information on them under the SDS System.
Under PRTR law, Class I Designated Chemical Substances are subject to both the PRTR system and the SDS system while Class II Designated Chemical Substances are subject to SDS system only. Only businesses in the published types of industries are obliged to confirm and notify the release amounts of chemical substances in the environment.
Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law (PDSCL) was implemented in 1950 to control poisonous and deleterious substances to protect the public health from a hygiene point of view.
This law imposes a license requirement on manufacturers, importers and sellers of poisonous or deleterious substances. It also requires that persons engaged in relevant businesses meet prescribed standards for manufacturing or storing equipment of poisonous or deleterious substances and comply with specific requirements on storing, labelling or transferring.
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