Yes, if your product falls under one of Japan's product safety regimes. Electrical and electronic products need a PSE mark under the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (DENAN, 電気用品安全法); most other consumer products need a PSC mark under the Consumer Product Safety Act (消費生活用製品安全法); food and food-contact items need an import notification under the Food Sanitation Act (食品衛生法); and wireless devices need TELEC certification under the Radio Act (電波法). Clearing customs through an Attorney for Customs Procedures (ACP) does not satisfy any of these separately, and since December 2025 the obligations extend to foreign sellers as well as Japan-based importers.
Which Japan Product Safety Law Applies to My Product?#
It depends on what the product is, not on how it enters Japan. Five regimes cover most import categories: the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (電気用品安全法, DENAN) covers electronic and electrical products and is enforced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省, METI) through the PSE mark; the Consumer Product Safety Act (消費生活用製品安全法, CPSA) covers non-electronic consumer products, also under METI, through the PSC mark; the Food Sanitation Act (食品衛生法) covers food, food-contact materials, and kitchenware under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省, MHLW); the Radio Act (電波法) covers wireless-emitting devices such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hardware under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省, MIC) through TELEC certification; and the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act (医薬品医療機器等法) covers cosmetics, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals under MHLW. A single shipment can trigger more than one regime at once, for example a battery-powered wireless consumer gadget, which is why identifying the applicable regime is the first step before anything else in this guide.
What Is the PSE Mark and Which Products Need It?#
Electrical and electronic products need one of two PSE certification paths depending on risk category. Category A, the Specified Products group (roughly 116 item types including cables, power supplies, and lithium batteries), requires third-party certification through a METI-registered conformity body, an initial factory audit with annual follow-up, and carries the diamond-shaped PSE mark; Category B, the Non-Specified Products group (roughly 341 item types including most household appliances and general electronics), only requires self-declaration against the applicable technical standard and carries the round-shaped PSE mark.
The compliance sequence is the same shape for both categories: identify which category your product falls into, test it against the relevant JIS or IEC standard (Japan applies its own deviations from the base IEC standard), complete either third-party certification (Category A) or self-inspection (Category B), apply the correct PSE mark and nameplate, and file a business notification (届出) with METI before importing through your ACP or IOR channel.
Key points:
(a) The nameplate itself carries fixed content requirements: the PSE mark, rated voltage, rated frequency, rated power consumption, manufacturer or importer name, and country of manufacture must all appear, and a missing field is a common cause of held shipments.
(b) Category A's third-party audit is the longer lead-time item. Budget for it well before your target ship date, since a registered conformity body's audit slot, not the customs process itself, is usually the binding constraint.
(c) Category B's lighter self-declaration path does not mean lighter liability. The importer or foreign seller of record is still accountable for the technical standard being met even without third-party sign-off.
For the classification question itself, which determines whether your specific product is Diamond-mark Category A or Circle-mark Category B, see our dedicated guide on Diamond PSE vs Circle PSE classification.
What Is the PSC Mark and What Changed for Children's Toys in December 2025?#
The PSC mark applies to non-electronic consumer products under two categories: Specified Products (pressure cookers, helmets, baby beds, climbing ropes) requiring third-party certification, and Special Specified Products (lighters, hot water equipment, oil heaters) requiring self-declaration plus inspection. Effective December 25, 2025, a new requirement sits on top of both categories: all toys intended for children under 36 months must carry the Child PSC Mark, a certification that did not exist before that date.
The Child PSC Mark covers mechanical safety, physical hazards, and flammability, tested against Japanese technical standards aligned with international references such as ISO 8124 and ASTM F963-style toy safety testing (ST2025). A qualifying toy needs the mark itself on the product or packaging, a Japanese-language age warning, and a business notification filed with METI. Products for this age bracket that lack the mark cannot legally be sold in Japan regardless of how they were imported or how well they clear customs.
Do Foreign Sellers Now Need a Domestic Representative in Japan?#
Yes, if you sell PSE- or PSC-regulated products directly to Japanese consumers, most commonly through e-commerce. Before the December 2025 amendment, the Four Product Safety Acts placed compliance obligations only on the Japan-based importer of record. The amendment extends the same obligations, business notification to METI, PS mark display responsibility, accident reporting, product recall coordination, and record retention, to the foreign seller directly when the seller is transacting with Japanese consumers without a Japan-based importer standing between them.
Meeting this obligation requires appointing a Domestic Representative (国内管理人): a Japan-resident individual or entity that receives METI communications on the seller's behalf, assists with accident reports, coordinates any product recall, is named in the business notification, and acts as the point of contact for regulatory authorities. Some ACP providers now combine ACP and Domestic Representative functions into a single engagement, since both roles require a Japan-resident party accountable to Japanese authorities on the foreign seller's behalf. Our guide on why PSE and the Notifying Supplier model break down for China-sourced electronics covers a closely related foreign-seller compliance gap that surfaces in the same import flow.
What Do Food and Food-Contact Products Need Before They Clear Customs?#
Food and food-contact products need an import notification (輸入届出) filed with the quarantine station under the Food Sanitation Act (食品衛生法) before or at the point of import, separate from and prior to customs clearance itself. Food additives must appear on Japan's positive list, food-contact materials such as kitchenware and packaging need material safety testing against MHLW standards, and designated toys that children may put in their mouths need chemical safety testing covering paints, coatings, and adhesives.
① Prepare product documentation + test reports
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② Submit import notification (輸入届出) to quarantine station
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③ Quarantine inspection (document check / physical inspection / lab test)
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④ Receive import notification certificate (if passed)
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⑤ Customs clearance via ACP/IOR
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⑥ Distribution
Separately from the quarantine notification, every food product sold in Japan needs a Japanese-language label carrying ingredients, allergen information, nutritional information, expiry date, and the importer's name and address. Get the quarantine notification and the labeling requirement confirmed early, since a shipment can clear quarantine and still be blocked from sale over a labeling defect.
Do Wireless Devices Need Separate Certification From PSE?#
Yes. Any radio-emitting device, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular hardware, needs TELEC certification (技術基準適合証明) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省, MIC) regardless of whether the same device also needs a PSE mark for its electrical safety. A Japanese legal representative is required to apply for TELEC certification, and testing must cover Japan-specific frequency allocations, which commonly differ from US or EU allocations even for an otherwise identical device. Specified Radio Equipment (特定無線設備) goes through an MIC-designated certification body; extremely low-power devices can generally proceed on self-declaration, though testing is still recommended given how MIC's own guidance on the distinction is published primarily in Japanese.
Key points:
(a) Identify every applicable regime before sourcing testing, since electronics that are also wireless and also consumer-facing can trigger PSE, TELEC, and PSC obligations on the same unit.
(b) The December 2025 reform moved real obligations onto foreign sellers, not just Japan-based importers: business notification, PS mark responsibility, accident reporting, recall coordination, and record retention now follow the foreign seller directly in a direct-to-consumer sale.
(c) A Domestic Representative and an ACP are related but distinct roles. Confirm whether your provider's engagement actually covers both before assuming your customs setup also satisfies your product-safety obligations.
Frequently Asked Questions#
How do I know whether my product needs a PSE mark, a PSC mark, or both?
Electrical and electronic products fall under PSE regardless of what they otherwise do, while non-electronic consumer products fall under PSC; a battery-powered consumer device commonly needs PSE for the electrical component and may separately need TELEC certification if it also transmits wirelessly. Check the product category lists under each act, since the roughly 116 PSE Specified Products and 341 PSE Non-Specified Products, and the separate PSC Specified and Special Specified Products lists, are the actual determining reference rather than general intuition about what counts as "electronic."
Do I need a Domestic Representative if I only sell through a Japan-based distributor?
The Domestic Representative requirement introduced in December 2025 targets foreign sellers transacting directly with Japanese consumers, most commonly through e-commerce, where no Japan-based importer sits between the seller and the end consumer. If a Japan-based distributor or importer of record already sits in that position and bears the compliance obligations under the Four Product Safety Acts, the direct foreign-seller obligation is less likely to apply to you the same way, but this should be confirmed against your actual sales structure rather than assumed.
What actually happens if I clear customs but skip PSE or PSC certification?
Clearing customs and satisfying product safety law are enforced separately, so a shipment can physically enter Japan and still be legally unsellable, subject to a stop-sale order, or exposed to recall and accident-reporting liability if a problem surfaces later. The safer sequence is to resolve the applicable certification, testing, and marking requirements before shipment, not to treat customs clearance as a proxy for product safety compliance.
Conclusion#
Japan's product safety regime runs on a separate track from customs clearance: PSE, PSC, Food Sanitation Act, and Radio Act obligations attach to the product itself and, since December 2025, increasingly attach to the foreign seller directly rather than only the Japan-based importer. Confirm which regimes apply to your specific product early, and route the combined customs and product-safety setup through the ACP service line so certification, Domestic Representative appointment, and customs clearance are sequenced together rather than discovered as gaps after a shipment is already stopped. For the Notifying Supplier model many foreign manufacturers use to satisfy PSE without a Japan factory presence, see our guide on PSE certification for foreign manufacturers.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a qualified product safety consultant or licensed customs specialist (通関士) before acting on the content. Last updated: August 2026.