Industrial Safety and Health Act

A person seeking to manufacture machinery or other such equipment that is set forth in Appended Table 1 as necessitating particularly dangerous work operations, and also specified by Cabinet Order (hereinafter referred to as "specified machinery or other such equipment"), must obtain permission from the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau in advance, 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 Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau examines the application, and must not give the permission referred to in that paragraph unless the director finds that the construction of the specified machinery or other such equipment to which the application pertains complies with the standards provided for by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

An application for the permission referred to in paragraph (1) must be made, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, with a document attached that states the results of a review (hereinafter referred to as a "design review") conducted by a person registered by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for each type of specified machinery or other such equipment pertaining to the machinery or other such equipment set forth in Appended Table 1 (hereinafter referred to as a "registered agency for design reviews and post-manufacturing inspections") as to whether the design of the specified machinery or other such equipment to which the application pertains conforms to the part of the standards referred to in the preceding paragraph that relates to the construction of specified machinery or other such equipment; provided, however, that this does not apply when the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau carries out the operations for design reviews of the specified machinery or other such equipment to which the application pertains pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 53-2.

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a person that has manufactured or imported specified machinery or other such equipment (limited to that pertaining to the machinery or other such equipment set forth in items (i), (ii), (iv) and (viii) of Appended Table 1; the same applies in this paragraph, the following paragraph and paragraph (1) of the following Article), a person seeking to install specified machinery or other such equipment which has not been installed for the period specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, or a person seeking to reinstall or resume the use of specified machinery or other such equipment whose use has been discontinued must undergo an inspection by a registered agency for design reviews and post-manufacturing inspections with respect to that specified machinery or other such equipment itself and the related particulars that are prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; provided, however, that this does not apply if, for specified machinery or other such equipment that has been imported and the particulars related to it that are specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (referred to as "machinery or other such equipment subject to import inspection" in the following paragraph), the person that manufactured the specified machinery or other such equipment in a foreign country has undergone an inspection under the provisions of that paragraph.

Beyond as provided in the preceding paragraph, in a case set forth in one of the following items, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a person that has manufactured specified machinery or other such equipment in a foreign country may itself undergo an inspection by a registered agency for design reviews and post-manufacturing inspections for machinery or other such equipment subject to import inspection:

if the person seeks to export the specified machinery or other such equipment to Japan;

if the person that has imported the specified machinery or other such equipment is a person other than the person that has manufactured that specified machinery or other such equipment in a foreign country (in this item, such other persons are simply referred to as "other persons"), and the person that manufactured it does not wish to have inspections referred to in the preceding paragraph undertaken in respect of other persons.

A person that has installed specified machinery or other such equipment (excluding anything that is movable), a person that has changed any parts provided for by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of specified machinery or other such equipment, or a person that seeks to resume the use of specified machinery or other such equipment whose use has been discontinued, must undergo an inspection by the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices in respect of the specified machinery or other such equipment and the related particulars that are prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a registered agency for design reviews and post-manufacturing inspections issues an inspection certificate for movable specified machinery or other such equipment that has passed an inspection as referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of the preceding Article (hereinafter referred to as a "post-manufacturing inspection").

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices issues an inspection certificate for specified machinery or other such equipment that has passed the inspection referred to in paragraph (3) of the preceding Article in connection with the installation of specified machinery or other such equipment.

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Chief of the Labour Standard Inspection Offices endorses the inspection certificate of specified machinery or other such equipment that has passed an inspection as referred to in paragraph (3) of the preceding Article in connection with the partial alteration or resumption of the use of specified machinery or other such equipment.

A person must not use specified machinery or other such equipment for which an inspection certificate provided for in paragraph (1) or (2) of the preceding Article (hereinafter referred to as an "inspection certificate") has not been issued (including specified machinery or other such equipment that must be inspected in connection with a partial alteration or resumption of use pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) of Article 38, but for which the inspection certificate has not been endorsed as provided for in paragraph (3) of the preceding Article).

Specified machinery or other such equipment for which an inspection certificate has been issued must neither be transferred nor leased out unless accompanied by that certificate.

The valid term of an inspection certificate (or, if the valid term of an inspection certificate is renewed pursuant to the provisions of the following paragraph, the valid term of the inspection certificate as renewed) is the period specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in line with that kind of specified machinery or other such equipment.

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a person seeking to renew the valid term of an inspection certificate must undergo a performance inspection by a person registered by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as a "registered agency for performance inspections") in respect of the specified machinery or other such equipment and the related particulars that are prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Machinery or other such equipment that does not constitute specified machinery or other such equipment, but which is set forth in Appended Table 2 or otherwise necessitates dangerous or hazardous work operations, is used in a dangerous place, or is used to prevent the endangerment of a person or impairment of a person's health, and that is specified by Cabinet Order must not be transferred, leased out, or installed unless they fulfill the standards or safety device equipment requirements established by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

An employer must not have workers use the machinery or other such equipment referred to in the preceding paragraph unless it fulfills the standards or safety device equipment requirements referred to in that paragraph.

A person engaged in work who is an employer (limited to one that employs the number of workers specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or less) or an individual business operator (or, if such a person is a corporation, its representative or officer) (hereinafter referred to as an "officer, etc. engaged in work") must not, if personally using the machinery or other such equipment referred to in paragraph (1) to carry out work for a job at the same site as workers, use that machinery or other such equipment unless it fulfills the standards or safety device equipment requirements referred to in that paragraph.

Power-driven machinery or other such equipment without protective measures specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on projecting parts of its moving parts, power transmission sections, or speed regulatory sections must neither be transferred nor be leased out, and must not be exhibited with a view to transferring it or leasing it out.

If a person that has manufactured or imported machinery or other such equipment as referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 42 has transferred or leased out machinery or other such equipment so manufactured or imported that falls under one of the following items, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau may order that person to recall or improve the machinery or other such equipment, to provide the information specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to persons using that machinery or other such equipment, or to otherwise take necessary measures to prevent an industrial injury due to the machinery's or other such equipment's being used:

machinery or other such equipment to which a label as referred to in paragraph (4) of the following Article or a label misleadingly similar thereto has been attached in violation of the provisions of paragraph (5) of that Article;

machinery or other such equipment that has passed a type examination provided for in paragraph (3) of Article 44-2 but that does not conform to the standards or safety device equipment requirements specified by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare which are referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 42 (referred to as "standards or safety device equipment requirements" in item (iv) and in item (xiv) of Appended Table 4);

machinery or other such equipment to which a label as referred to in paragraph (5) of Article 44-2 or a label misleadingly similar thereto has been attached in violation of the provisions of paragraph (6) of that Article;

machinery or other such equipment other than as referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 44-2 which does not conform to the standards or safety device equipment requirements.

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a person that manufactures or imports machinery or other such equipment as referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 42 (excluding machinery or other such equipment prescribed in paragraph (1) of the following Article) which is set forth in Appended Table 3 and specified by Cabinet Order must subject itself to examinations for that machinery or other such equipment that an agency registered by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as a "registered agency for individual examinations") undertakes on an individual basis.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, if the person that has imported the machinery or other such equipment referred to in the preceding paragraph is a person other than the person manufacturing it in a foreign country (hereinafter referred to as a "foreign manufacturer" in this paragraph; a person other than the foreign manufacturer is referred to simply as "other persons" hereinafter in this paragraph), and the foreign manufacturer does not wish to have examinations as referred to in the preceding paragraph undertaken in respect of other persons, the foreign manufacturer, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, may itself undergo examinations for that machinery or other such equipment that a registered agency for individual examinations undertakes on an individual basis. Those provisions do not apply to a person importing machinery or other such equipment if the above individual examinations have been made.

Having received an application from a person seeking to undergo an examination as referred to in the preceding two paragraphs (hereinafter referred to as an "individual examination"), a registered agency for individual examinations must not give a passing result on the individual examination unless the machinery or other such equipment to which the application pertains is found to conform to the standards set by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A person that has undergone individual examinations, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, must affix a label to the machinery or other such equipment that has passed the individual examination indicating it to have passed that individual examination.

It is prohibited to affix a label as referred to in the preceding paragraph or a label misleadingly similar thereto to machinery or other such equipment other than that which has passed an individual examination.

A person must not use machinery or other such equipment as referred to in paragraph (1) that does not have a label as referred to in paragraph (4) affixed to it.

Pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a person that has manufactured or imported machinery or other such equipment as referred to in paragraph (1) of Article 42 which is set forth in Appended Table 4 and specified by Cabinet Order must undergo an examination regarding that machinery's or other equipment's type that a person registered by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as a "registered agency for type examinations") undertakes; provided, however, that this does not apply to any such machinery or other such equipment that has been imported and for which an examination as referred to in the following paragraph has been undertaken.

Beyond as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, in the following cases, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a person that has manufactured machinery or other such equipment referred to in the first part of the preceding paragraph in a foreign country (hereinafter referred to as a "foreign manufacturer" in this paragraph and Article 44-4) may itself undergo an examination regarding that machinery's or other such equipment's type that a registered agency for type examinations undertakes:

if the person seeks to export the machinery or other such equipment to Japan;

if the person that has imported the machinery or other such equipment is a person other than the foreign manufacturer (hereinafter such persons are referred to simply as "other persons"), and the foreign manufacturer does not wish to have examinations as referred to in the preceding paragraph undertaken for other persons.

Having received an application from a person seeking to undergo an examination as referred to in the preceding two paragraphs (hereinafter referred to as a "type examination"), a registered agency for type examinations must not give a passing result on the type examination unless it finds that the construction of the machinery or other such equipment and the equipment used for manufacturing and inspecting that machinery or other such equipment conforms to the standards specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

A registered agency for type examinations issues an applicant a type examination certificate for the type for which it has passed the type examination.

When a person that has undergone a type examination has manufactured in Japan or imported into Japan machinery or other such equipment of a type for which it has passed a type examination, that person, pursuant to Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, must affix a label indicating that it constitutes machinery or other such equipment of a type for which it has passed a type examination. The same applies to a person that has imported into Japan machinery or other such equipment of a type for which a type examination has been passed (but only one that is not itself the person that has undergone that type examination).

It is prohibited to affix a label as referred to in the preceding paragraph or a label misleadingly similar thereto to machinery or other such equipment other than that for which a person has passed a type examination.

A person must not use machinery or other such equipment as referred to in the main clause of paragraph (1) that does not have a label as referred to in paragraph (5) affixed to it.