Japan’s Circular Economy Vision Under the Action Plan | Chapter 15Comprehensive Chemical Management Under the GFC National Plan

In line with the strategic objectives set out by the GFC adopted in September 2023, chemical management in the environmental field will be promoted from an international perspective under the GFC National Implementation Plan formulated in April 2025.

The core effort is to treat the stages from chemical manufacture through use, circulation, and disposal as an integrated whole and establish legal frameworks, institutional mechanisms, and capacity building to minimize environmental risks.

Corresponding to GFC strategic objectives B through E, informed decision-making, responses to concerns, safer alternatives and sustainable solutions, resource mobilization, and cooperation will be incorporated into each stage of policymaking.

The framework involves not only institutional operation but also information sharing among the government, local governments, businesses, research institutions, civil society, industry, and academia, with participation in management and dialogue according to each role.

For businesses, the direction is to encourage improved voluntary chemical management through reviews and appropriate operation of the PRTR and SDS systems, and to expand efforts involving the communication of information on chemicals in products and recycled materials, environmentally conscious design, safer alternatives, and inventory management.

For public authorities and communities, the policy is to disclose data on releases and transfers, environmental monitoring, and biological samples with attention to accuracy and reliability, and to use it for risk assessment and preparedness during normal times to prevent damage during disasters.

For citizens and households raising children, risk communication, environmental education, human-resource development through chemical advisers, and the national survey on children’s health and the environment will support understanding of information and the realization of safe and secure child-rearing environments.

For the Asian region and developing countries, capacity for chemical management and the harmonization of systems and methods will be pursued through monitoring networks, Japan-China-Korea policy dialogue, technical assistance, and international collaborative work.

In addressing negative legacies, cooperation among institutions involved in storage, treatment, and environmental surveys will be strengthened by advancing the treatment of low-concentration PCB within the deadline and preventing harm from former military poison gas shells and similar materials.

Under the Chemical Substances Control Law, screening assessments of general chemical substances and risk assessments of priority assessment chemical substances will continue, with progress checks and process management conducted by joint councils of the relevant ministries. For mercury, measures will be taken under the Law Concerning Prevention of Environmental Pollution by Mercury, followed by reviews based on treaty resolutions and the results of the inspection conducted five years after the law’s enforcement.

Under the Agricultural Chemicals Control Law, registration standards will be established to prevent harm to plants and animals in the living environment and water pollution. Existing registered pesticides will be reevaluated beginning with those used in the largest quantities domestically, while the introduction of risk assessments for long-term exposure effects and river-water monitoring of pesticides with high ecological risks will advance. Measures for dioxins will continue under the relevant special measures law.

For product information, in addition to chemSHERPA and IMDS, the construction of a CMP handling information on chemicals in products and resource circulation is advancing through public-private cooperation. Efforts are also advancing toward constructing an RMP that includes waste treatment and recycled-material manufacturers. The use of industry guidance will also be promoted.

In risk assessment, the scope will be narrowed in stages from priority assessment chemical substances through Class II specified chemical substances, while initial assessments based on literature information and monitoring results will also be conducted. Based on the results, management methods at each life-cycle stage will be aligned, and resource circulation, extended producer responsibility, and environmentally conscious design will be promoted.

Concerns will be addressed individually. For PPCPs, knowledge of ecotoxicity and environmental occurrence will be enhanced to advance environmental risk assessment. For AMR, basic information on the environmental residues of antimicrobial agents will be collected, and effects on human health and organisms in the environment will be investigated. Plastic additives and similar substances will be addressed in light of negotiation developments, including INC efforts toward developing a treaty.

For PFAS, knowledge will be collected through the EcoChild Study, human exposure monitoring, and environmental monitoring, and shared with relevant ministries and local governments as necessary. For endocrine-disrupting effects, assessments using EXTEND2022 test methods will be accelerated, and the development and use of NAMs, QSAR, toxicogenomics, and AOP will be considered.

For combined-effect assessment, knowledge collection and trial assessments will focus on structural similarity among chemicals and similarity in their mechanisms of action. Guidance for public authorities will be prepared to provide knowledge to existing risk-assessment systems. Knowledge concerning nanomaterials and advanced materials will also be enhanced.

The EcoChild Study will continue following a long-term birth cohort of approximately 100,000 parent-child pairs, conducting school-age examinations, a detailed survey of approximately 5,000 children, chemical analyses of biological samples, and genetic analyses.

To support corporate efforts, a framework including evaluation indicators will be developed so that companies practicing advanced chemical management are appropriately evaluated, in light of the trend of institutional investors assessing corporate environmental consideration in investment decisions through ESG investment and similar means. Cooperation among relevant stakeholders will be strengthened through policy dialogue, human-resource development, environmental education, and the sharing of accurate risk and benefit information.

For PCB waste, public awareness among storage operators and cooperation among relevant institutions will be advanced. With the treatment deadline for low-concentration PCB at the end of March 2027, corresponding to Reiwa 9, efforts will secure treatment within the deadline and an appropriate treatment system. Regarding former military poison gas shells and similar materials, environmental surveys and information collection and dissemination by the Poison Gas Information Center will continue based on the Cabinet agreement of June 2003 and the Cabinet decision of December 2003.