Japan cosmetic ingredient regulations
The Standards for Cosmetics include prohibited and restricted ingredient appendices.
- Regulator
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- Source language
- Japanese; official English translation available
- Coverage version
- MHLW Standards for Cosmetics official English source and Japanese amendments checked for the imported snapshot
What this list is
Japan's Standards for Cosmetics take the opposite approach to an EU annex: a short list of prohibited and restricted substances, plus positive lists for preservatives, UV filters and tar colours, and freedom elsewhere.
- 117 Japanese records: 87 restricted, 30 prohibited.
- Preservatives, UV filters and tar colours are positive-listed — outside those lists they may not be used.
- Ingredients outside the restricted lists need no approval, and the manufacturer carries responsibility for safety.
- Quasi-drugs are a separate category with its own approval route, and are not covered by this list.
The Standards for Cosmetics, issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, are deliberately short. They name substances that must not be used, substances that may be used within stated limits, and — for three categories — the only substances that may be used at all. Preservatives, ultraviolet absorbers and tar colours are positive-listed, so for those three, a substance that is not on the list is not permitted. Everything outside that structure is left to the manufacturer, who is responsible for the product's safety.
The 117 records here are that framework, which is why the count looks small next to the EU's several thousand. It is not partial coverage. A framework that lists what is forbidden produces a short list by design.
One distinction catches importers out. Japan separates cosmetics from quasi-drugs — products making claims such as anti-perspirant, whitening or anti-acne — and quasi-drugs run through their own approval route with their own permitted-ingredient rules. A formula that is a cosmetic in the EU may be a quasi-drug in Japan on the strength of its claim alone, and this list will not answer for it.
Checked against
Official ingredient records
117 matching recordsTerephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid
CAS 92761-26-7 / 90457-82-2 · EC 410-960-6
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 10 10
Source:Appendix 4 section 2, entry 13 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Tetrahydroxybenzophenone
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Tetrahydroxybenzophenone
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 10 10 0.050
Source:Appendix 4 section 2, entry 12 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Thianthol
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Thianthol
CAS 135-58-0 · EC 205-202-4
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 0.80 0.80
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 19 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Thioctic acid
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Thioctic acid
CAS 1077-28-7 · EC 214-071-2
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 0.01 0.01
Source:Appendix 2 section 3, entry 2 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Thymol 0.050 0.050 ○(*2) Trichlorocarbanilide
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Thymol 0.050 0.050 ○(*2) Trichlorocarbanilide
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): ○ 0.30 0.30
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 20 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Trichlorohydroxydiphenylether (Triclosan)
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Trichlorohydroxydiphenylether (Triclosan)
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Maximum amount per 100 g: 0.10
Source:Appendix 3 section 1, entry 11 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Tris-Biphenyl Triazine
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Tris-Biphenyl Triazine
CAS 31274-51-8
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Maximum amount per 100 g: 10.0
Source:Appendix 4 section 1, entry 4 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Ubidecarenone
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Ubidecarenone
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 0.03 0.03
Source:Appendix 2 section 3, entry 3 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Vinyl chloride monomer
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Vinyl chloride monomer
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this material in Appendix 1.
Conditions: Prohibited material
Source:Appendix 1, entry 4 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Vitamin L1 and Vitamin L2
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Vitamin L1 and Vitamin L2
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this material in Appendix 1.
Conditions: Prohibited material
Source:Appendix 1, entry 20 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Zinc pyrithione
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Zinc pyrithione
CAS 13463-41-7 · EC 236-671-3
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 0.10 0.010 0.010
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 24 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Zinc, ammonia and silver substituted zeolite(*4)
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: Zinc, ammonia and silver substituted zeolite(*4)
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 1.0 1.0
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 1 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
o-Phenyl phenol
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: o-Phenyl phenol
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): ○ 0.30 0.30
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 8 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
p-Aminobenzoic acid and its esters
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: p-Aminobenzoic acid and its esters
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Maximum amount per 100 g: 4.0 as total
Source:Appendix 4 section 1, entry 5 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
p-Chlorphenol
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: p-Chlorphenol
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 0.25 0.25
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 21 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
p-Dimethylaminostyryl heptyl methyl thiazolium iodide
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: p-Dimethylaminostyryl heptyl methyl thiazolium iodide
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Published three-column use matrix (rinse-off / leave-on / mucosal; blank means prohibited, ○ means no upper limit): 0.0015 0.0015
Source:Appendix 3 section 2, entry 31 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
p-Oxybenzoic acid esters and their sodium salts
Japan Standards for Cosmetics: p-Oxybenzoic acid esters and their sodium salts
The provisional English translation of the MHLW Standards for Cosmetics lists this ingredient with the stated limit or use matrix.
Conditions: Maximum amount per 100 g: 1.0 as total
Source:Appendix 3 section 1, entry 12 · version MHLW Notification No. 331 provisional translation, retrieved 2026-08-30 · source checked 2026-08-30
Market coverage contract
Complete Standards appendices dataset- Included scope
- Prohibited ingredients, restricted ingredients and permitted preservative/UV/colourant appendices present in the official standard source.
- If no match is found
- The Japanese text and subsequent notices are canonical; no local match is not a product-compliance conclusion.
Complete verification checklist
- Search Japanese/English identity and CAS where present.
- Apply category and maximum-amount conditions.
- Check later MHLW notices against the Japanese source.
- Verify marketing licence, notification, labelling and quasi-drug classification.
How Japan differs from other markets
Comparing this market's imported rules against every other market's for the same substance. A market with no imported rule for a substance is left out of that comparison rather than treated as permitting it.
A formula cleared elsewhere can fail here.
Permitted here under conditions and prohibited, or more tightly held, elsewhere — so a formula built for this market may not travel.
Official sources and legal role
Japan MHLW Standards for Cosmetics
Prohibited and restricted ingredient appendices with concentration and use conditions
Legal meaning: Official MHLW standard; validate later Japanese updates before presenting current status
Available language: English translation; Japanese source remains canonical
What this market page can answer
Source and authority
Identify the official material and the regulator responsible for it: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Language and scope
See whether usable English or bilingual material exists and what the mapped source actually covers. Current source language: Japanese; official English translation available.
Evidence status
Browse ingredient-level records imported from official sources. Each row states whether it passed deterministic source checks or human editorial review.
How to verify an ingredient for this market
- Search the ingredient by INCI name, CAS number or EC number and record the exact identity.
- Open each official source above and check the current version, product scope, concentration limits and required warnings.
- Confirm effective dates and whether an English text is official, reviewed or only contextual.
- Treat a missing local match as unknown, never as permission or a safety conclusion.