Japan Releases Schedule for 2026 Low-Volume New Chemical Substance Notifications, to be Conducted in Ten Batches

On October 17, 2025, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly issued a notice regarding the schedule for submitting manufacturing and import notifications for low-volume new chemical substances for fiscal year 2026.

According to the Chemical Substances Control Law (CSCL), companies must submit confirmation applications for the manufacture or import of low-volume new chemical substances during the designated acceptance periods. Applications can be submitted via three methods: electronic application through e-Gov, mail submission using a CD-ROM, or paper-based mail submission to METI.

The acceptance schedule for fiscal year 2026 is as follows:

The schedule for August 2026 and beyond (4th batch and subsequent batches) is subject to change and will be announced separately around June 2026 on METI's website. The acceptance periods for the 4th and 5th batches may be combined.

Dispatch of the confirmation notices is expected to occur approximately one month after the end of the respective acceptance period. In principle, companies must receive the confirmation notice before commencing manufacture or import of the new chemical substance. However, for applications submitted in the 1st batch, manufacture or import can begin after April 1, 2026.

Furthermore, the notice regarding the schedule for manufacturing and import applications for low-volume new chemical substances for fiscal year 2027 is planned to be announced in October 2026.

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Further Information

METI