Industrial Safety and Health Act

A person seeking to become a registered inspection agency must, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, apply for the registration of its name, address, and other information prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in the register of registered inspection agencies kept at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Prefectural Labour Bureau.

A person falling under any of the following items may not be registered as referred to in the preceding paragraph:

a person sentenced to a fine or heavier punishment for violating the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) of Article 45 or an order under those provisions or for violating an order under the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 54-7, if two years have not passed since the day on which the person finished serving the sentence or ceased to be subject to its enforcement;

a person whose registration has been rescinded pursuant to provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 54-7, if two years have not passed since the date of the rescission;

a corporation that has a person falling under one of the preceding two items as an officer engaged in its business operations.

A registration as referred to in paragraph (1) is made at the application of a person seeking to be a registered inspection agency.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau must not effect the registration referred to in paragraph (1) unless the minister finds that an application as referred to in the preceding paragraph complies with the standards specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

An employer or other related party may ask to inspect the register of registered inspection agencies.

In conducting specified inspections in response to others' requests, a registered inspection agency must have these implemented by persons that possesses the qualifications specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, a registered inspection agency must conduct specified inspections in accordance with the standards referred to in paragraph (4) of Article 45.

If a registered inspection agency transfers all of its business or if a registered inspection agency has become subject to a succession, merger, or company split (limited to one in which it allows another person to assume all of its business), the person acquiring all of the business, the successor (hereinafter in this paragraph, the person chosen as the successor to the business through the agreement of all parties when there are two or more successors), the corporation surviving the merger, the corporation incorporated as a result of the merger, or the person assuming all of its business as a result of the company split succeeds to the position of the registered inspection agency; provided, however, that this does not apply if the party succeeding to all of the business, successor, corporation surviving the merger, corporation incorporated as a result of the merger, or corporation assuming all of its business as a result of the company split falls under the provisions of the items of paragraph (2) of Article 54-3.

A person that has succeeded to the position of a registered inspection agency pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph must file a notification of this with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or with the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and without delay.

If the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau finds that a registered inspection agency is violating the provisions of Article 54-4, the Minister or the Director may order that registered inspection agency to take the measures necessary to improve its methods of specified inspection or other operational methods.

If a registered inspection agency has come to fall under item (i) or (iii) of paragraph (2) of Article 54-3, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau must revoke its registration.

If a registered inspection agency has come to fall under any of the following items, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may revoke its registration or order a full or partial suspension of specified inspection operations for a fixed period not exceeding six months:

it is found to have ceased to be in conformity with the standards referred to in paragraph (4) of Article 54-3;

it has violated the provisions of Article 54-4;

it violates an order under the preceding Article;

it has violated the conditions referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 110.

It is prohibited to manufacture, import, transfer, provide, or use substances that cause significant impairments of workers' health, such as yellow phosphorus matches, benzidine, preparations containing benzidine, and that are specified by Cabinet Order; provided, however, that this does not apply if any of these is manufactured, imported or used for the sake of research or examination, and fall under the requirements specified by Cabinet Order.

A person seeking to manufacture substances that could cause significant impairments of workers' health, such as dichlorobenzidine, preparations containing dichlorobenzidine, and that are specified by Cabinet Order must obtain permission in advance from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

When a person has applied for the permission referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare examines that application, and must not give the permission referred to in that paragraph unless the minister finds that the manufacturing equipment, work methods, and the like comply with the standards established by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A person that has obtained the permission referred to in paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as a "manufacturer") must keep its manufacturing equipment in conformity with the standards referred to in the preceding paragraph.

A manufacturer must manufacture the substances referred to in paragraph (1) using a work method that conforms to the standards referred to in paragraph (2).

On finding that a manufacturer's manufacturing equipment or work methods do not comply with the standards referred to in paragraph (2), the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may order that the manufacturing equipment be repaired, reconstructed, or relocated so as to conform with those standards, or that the substances referred to in paragraph (1) be manufactured using a work method that conforms with those standards.

The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may, if a manufacturer violates the provisions of this Act, an order under this Act or administrative dispositions under these provisions, revoke the permission referred to in paragraph (1).