Industry Alerts on Changes in Japan’s Standards and Regulatory Environment

In an effort to keep U.S. industry abreast of the latest changes in Japan’s standards and regulatory environment, the Commercial Service Japan Market Access and Compliance unit prepares a weekly summary translation in English of the latest public comment announcements by Japanese administrative agencies.  The summary translation is intended to alert U.S. companies to changes in Japan’s standards and regulatory environment that could have an impact on market access opportunities in Japan.  A sample of the weekly translation can be found here(PDF). 

U.S. firms can direct general questions or complaints about transparency in Japan’s rule making and public comment process to the Market Access and Compliance Unit.

        Minae Suzuki
        Market Access and Compliance Assistant
        Phone: +81 3 3224 5082

Background

In 1993 the Government of Japan (GOJ) created a public comment mechanism to give greater access to policy-making and to promote transparency and accountability in the decision-making process for rulemaking.  The mechanism requires GOJ administrative bodies to publish proposed rules, regulations, guidelines and other administrative actions (collectively, “Rules”) for public comment, and then implement the final version of such Rules only after undergoing an analysis of all comments received.  

Accordingly, each Japanese ministry posts draft regulations for public comment on their respective websites.  These draft regulations can also be found in a consolidated list available in Japanese on the GOJ e-Gov web portal .

For more information on the transparency of Japan’s rulemaking procedures see the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan’s Viewpoint on Japan’s Public Comment Process, which highlights U.S. industry concerns and identifies areas for improvement.