Yes. A battery-powered wireless device with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or NFC needs both Radio Act (電波法) Giteki (技適) certification and Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (電気用品安全法, PSE) certification before it can be sold in Japan. The two regimes sit under different ministries, test different risks, and neither substitutes for the other. A device cleared on one track and missing the other cannot be legally sold.
Do Wireless Devices Need Both PSE and Giteki Certification in Japan?#
Yes, when a device both transmits radio frequency signals and draws power from a battery or mains supply, it falls inside two separate compliance regimes simultaneously. Radio Act (電波法) certification addresses the radio side: whether the device's transmissions meet Japan's technical standards and will not interfere with licensed spectrum users. PSE (電気用品安全法) certification addresses the electrical side: whether the device is safe to power on, charge, or plug in without fire or shock risk.
These two questions have nothing to do with each other from a regulatory design standpoint, which is why one ministry's clearance carries no weight with the other. A Wi-Fi router with a Giteki mark but no PSE certification is still an uncertified electrical appliance. A charger-equipped Bluetooth speaker with PSE clearance but no Giteki mark is still an unauthorized radio transmitter. Our overview of Radio Act and Giteki basics covers the certification mechanics for the radio side in more depth.
What Does Radio Act (電波法) Giteki Certification Cover?#
Giteki certification confirms that a device's radio transmissions meet Japan's technical standards for frequency, power output, and interference control, administered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, MIC (総務省). Any product with RF transmission capability, meaning Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular modems, NFC, or satellite links, requires either a Giteki mark or an Experimental Station Licence (実験局免許) before operating in Japan.
The distinction between the two matters for how a device is imported and used. Giteki is the commercial-sale pathway: a manufacturer or importer submits the device to a registered certification body, most commonly TELEC (Telecom Engineering Center), for type testing against the applicable technical standard, and a passing result allows the device to carry the 技適 mark and be sold or operated commercially. An Experimental Station Licence is a narrower, MIC-issued authorization for research and trial use only, and it does not permit commercial sale. Our comparison of Experimental Station Licence versus Type Certification walks through when each pathway applies.
What Does PSE (電気用品安全法) Certification Cover?#
PSE certification confirms that a device meets Japan's electrical safety standards for shock, fire, and overheating risk, administered under the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (電気用品安全法), a METI-side regime entirely separate from MIC's Radio Act. Any device that draws power, whether from a battery pack, an internal rechargeable cell, or a mains adapter, falls inside PSE scope regardless of whether it also transmits radio signals.
For foreign manufacturers without a Japan manufacturing or import presence, PSE compliance typically runs through the Notifying Supplier (届出事業者) model under the DENAN framework, where a Japan-based notifying entity takes on the regulatory obligations tied to the product category. Our guide to PSE certification for foreign manufacturers covers how that structure works and who carries the compliance obligation.
Which Devices Trigger the Dual-Certification Requirement?#
A device needs both certifications when two conditions are both true: it has RF transmission capability of any kind, and it is battery-powered or mains-powered. Most consumer and industrial wireless electronics meet both conditions by design, since a transmitter needs power to operate.
Key points:
(a) A device with RF transmission but no independent power source (a passive RFID tag with no battery, for example) may fall outside PSE scope while still requiring Radio Act clearance.
(b) A device with a battery or power cord but no RF transmitter (a corded lamp, a non-connected battery charger) falls under PSE alone with no Radio Act exposure.
(c) Any device combining RF transmission with battery or mains power, which covers the large majority of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and NFC products on the market, sits inside both regimes and needs both certifications cleared independently before commercial sale.
Satellite terminals illustrate the stakes of getting this distinction wrong at the import stage. Our Starlink terminal cost-asymmetry analysis shows how a single powered-on demo unit can trigger licensing obligations disproportionate to the hardware's value, a pattern that applies more broadly whenever a device is powered on in Japan without its certifications already in hand.
What Is the Filing Sequence for Both Certifications?#
Each certification is filed as a separate application to a separate body, and neither application references or depends on the other's outcome. The Giteki track runs through a registered certification body such as TELEC for technical standard testing, with MIC as the certifying authority behind the mark. The PSE track runs through the Notifying Supplier framework under METI's electrical safety regime, independent of any radio testing.
Because the two tracks do not share a technical dependency, they can generally be pursued in parallel rather than sequentially, provided the importer has design documentation ready for both testing scopes at the same time. Some dual-use or telecom-adjacent equipment additionally requires MIC and METI approvals to be coordinated simultaneously rather than run as two unrelated silos, particularly where the device also touches export-control classification. Confirming which of these tracks (or both) apply to a specific device model, and coordinating the two filing sequences so neither stalls the other, is a scope our customs and regulatory filing coordination service is built around.
Frequently Asked Questions#
Can I sell a Wi-Fi device in Japan with only the Giteki mark and no PSE certification?
No. A Wi-Fi device that is battery-powered or mains-powered needs PSE certification in addition to the Giteki mark, since PSE covers electrical safety risk that Radio Act testing does not address at all. Selling with only one certification exposes the seller to enforcement under whichever regime was skipped, regardless of how thorough the other certification was.
Does an Experimental Station Licence let me sell a device commercially while I wait for full Giteki certification?
No. An Experimental Station Licence (実験局免許) authorizes research and trial use only and does not permit commercial sale under any circumstances. Commercial sale requires the full Giteki type certification pathway, and using an experimental licence to sell product is a different violation from missing certification altogether.
Do both certifications need to be completed before the device physically enters Japan?
The certifications govern legal sale and, for Radio Act, powered-on operation, not the customs import event itself, so the compliance timing depends on what happens to the device after arrival. A unit imported sealed and uninstalled carries less immediate exposure than one powered on for a demo or shipped directly to retail shelves, but any commercial sale or public operation without both certifications in place is non-compliant regardless of import status.
Conclusion#
PSE and Giteki are answering two different questions about the same device, one about electrical safety and one about radio spectrum interference, and a ministry-level clearance on either side says nothing about the other. Any wireless product that is also battery-powered or mains-powered needs both tracks cleared independently before it reaches the Japan market. Treating them as substitutes, or assuming one implies the other, is the most common gap that surfaces during a pre-import compliance review.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a qualified advisor before acting on the content. Last updated: September 2026.