Japan Begins Public Consultation on Draft Ministerial Ordinance to Specify 156 Long‑Chain PFCA‑Related Substances under CSCL 
On June 1, 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW); Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); and Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly launched a public consultation on a draft Ministerial Ordinance that identifies the specific chemical substances to be regulated as “long‑chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid (long‑chain PFCA)‑related substances,” which were newly added to the “Class I Specified Chemical Substances” under the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (the Chemical Substances Control Law, or CSCL).
At the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs Convention), long‑chain PFCA‑related substances were newly designated for elimination. In Japan, the Cabinet promulgated the Cabinet Order Partially Amending the Enforcement Order of the CSCL (Cabinet Order No. 171) on May 22, 2026, thereby designating this group of substances as Class I Specified Chemical Substances.
Because the POPs Review Committee (POPRC), established under the Conference of the Parties, has provided only an “indicative list” of long‑chain PFCA‑related substances, Japan adopted a flexible designation approach: the Cabinet Order defines only the external scope criteria, while the specific substances are to be identified separately through a Ministerial Ordinance.
From among the substances listed in the POPRC’s indicative list, 156 substances that meet the criterion of “compounds containing a perfluoroalkyl group with eight to twenty carbon atoms directly bonded to atoms other than fluorine, chlorine, or bromine” were selected as candidates.
Public comments on the draft Ministerial Ordinance specifying these 156 substances will be accepted from June 1 to June 30, 2026.
The Ministerial Ordinance is expected to be promulgated around September 2026 and to enter into force on November 22, 2026, the same date on which the amended Order becomes fully effective.
Reference URLs
- Public consultation on the draft Ministerial Ordinance specifying chemical substances under Article 1, Paragraph 1, Item 42 of the CSCL Enforcement Order
https://public-comment.e-gov.go.jp/pcm/detail?CLASSNAME=PCMMSTDETAIL&id=595126095&Mode=0 - FY2026, 2nd Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation Council, Chemical Substance Safety Measures Subcommittee; Chemical Substances Council, 257th Screening Subcommittee; Central Environment Council, Environmental Health Committee, Chemical Substances Review Subcommittee (Part I)
https://www.meti.go.jp/shingikai/kagakubusshitsu/shinsa/257.html - Cabinet Order Partially Amending the Enforcement Order of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (Cabinet Order No. 171) (Official Gazette, May 22, 2026)
https://www.kanpo.go.jp/20260522/20260522g00113/20260522g001130004f.html - METI News Release on Cabinet Approval of the Cabinet Order (May 19, 2026)
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2026/05/20260519001/20260519001.html - Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc.
https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/348AC0000000117/20260701_508AC0000000022?occasion_date=20260701
Enforcement Order of the Act on the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc.
https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/349CO0000000202/20260617_507CO0000000416?occasion_date=20260617
