Original source
Regulation / act
化粧品基準（平成12年厚生省告示第331号）／化粧品・医薬部外品等ホームページ（厚生労働省）
- Official date
- 2026-06-17
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Official source. MHLW cosmetics portal / Standards for Cosmetics
Key points
- Standards for Cosmetics (Notification No. 331 of 2000, as amended) are the ingredient rule for cosmetics.
- CSCL Class I substances are not permitted as cosmetic ingredients.
- 2026 CSCL orders on PFAS-related substances are the trigger — confirm the Cabinet Order / ministerial ordinance text for identifiers and dates.
- Quasi-drugs are a different list (JSQI) and a different approval path.
Dates. Standards in force; CSCL designations in 2026 have their own apply dates — confirm the order.
Verify in the official text. Exact chemical identifiers and whether any transitional manufacture/import window exists.
Open questions. Confirm any transitional stock rules and whether your exact INCI / product type is named. This desk brief is a prioritisation aid, not a legal determination.
What changed: CSCL Class I activity in 2026 flows automatically into Japan cosmetics restrictions.
Who is affected: Japan MAHs and brands using fluorinated film-formers or related PFAS.
Suggested next steps: Screen Japan formulas against the current Class I list. Confirm with the MAH before the next import.
Japan’s Standards for Cosmetics prohibit CSCL Class I Specified Chemical Substances. 2026 designations in the PFAS family (including PFHxS-related listings reported around mid-June) therefore flow into cosmetics without a separate “ban announcement” that looks like NMPA format.
If you sell in Japan, screen fluorinated ingredients against the current Class I list, not only against EU Annex II.
This week: ask the Japan MAH which INCIs they have already flagged.
Official text
English translation — the official-language text prevails
Unofficial English translation of the operative MHLW rule. Japanese official text prevails.
The Standards for Cosmetics (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 331 of 2000, as amended) provide that cosmetic ingredients must not include substances that pose a risk to public health, including — as later practice and industry notices restate — substances designated as Class I Specified Chemical Substances under the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL).
Therefore, when a Cabinet Order / three-ministry ordinance designates a substance (including PFAS-family substances such as PFHxS-related listings in 2026) as Class I, that substance is not permitted as a cosmetic ingredient. A separate “cosmetics ban notice” in NMPA style is not required for the knock-on to apply.
Quasi-drugs (医薬部外品) follow a different path (including JSQI) and are not covered by this cosmetics-standard sentence. Confirm identifiers and apply dates in the CSCL order itself, then check the current Standards for Cosmetics notification on mhlw.go.jp.