G/TBT/W/357  
 
18 February 2013  
(13-0891)  Page: 1/6  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
TRANSPARENCY IN STANDARD-SETTING 
COMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN 
 The following communication, dated 15 February 2013, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Japan.  
 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  Japan would like to express sincere appreciation for the WTO Secretariat's efforts to make 
valuable and useful notes on TBT Thematic Sessions. Japan would like to submit its comments and share experiences on the notes on TBT Second Them atic Session: Standards 1, which will be held 
on 5 March 2013 for the Sixth Triennial Review of the TBT Agreement, incorporating various 
comments from Members. 
 
1.2.  Japan's comments and experiences are based on "Transparency in standard-setting" in the 
report on Sixth Triennial Review (G/TBT/32) in paragraph 9 which says "adequate period of time 
for interested parties in the territory of at least all members of the international standardizing body 
to make comments in writing and take these written comments into account in the further consideration of the standard."  
2  JAPANESE INDUSTRIAL STANDARDS 
2.1.  Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) are national standards developed based on the Industrial 
Standardization Act (1949) with an aim to pr omote the industrial standards of Japan.  
2.2.  Each JIS is given its own number. The JIS numbers, in principle, consist of a combination of 
one letter of the alphabet that indicates the se ctor and a four-digit number. (e.g. JIS G3101: 
Rolled steels for general structure). The letter "G" indicates the "Ferrous Materials and Metallurgy" sector in JIS numbers. 
2.3.  Regarding the activities situation of Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) in the fiscal year 
2011 is as follows: 178 JIS were newly established, 417 were revised, 148 were withdrawn and 1,959 were confirmed. As of March 31, 2012, 10,289 JIS have been developed and the breakdown 
of these JIS by sector is shown in Figure 1.  
 
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  As of the end of March 2012 
  
3  ROLES OF THE JISC  
3.1.  The Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC) is a deliberative body established within 
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and is engaged in investigations and 
deliberations over the issues of industrial standardization based on the Industrial Standardization 
Act. Its functions include deliberations on the deve lopment and/or revision of Japanese Industrial 
Standards (JIS) and making recommendations and reports to the relevant ministers with respect to the promotion of industrial standardizaton such as JIS etc. The JISC also participates in 
international standardization activities of the International Organizaton for Standardization (ISO) 
and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), as a member representing Japan.  
4  PROCESS OF DEVELOPING JIS 
4.1.  When a task for standardization arises from  social needs in the government or in industry, 
surveys and research activities are performed to collect necessary data for standardization on an as-needed basis. Based on the results, a "JIS draft" is formulated by the JIS draft committee 
(consists of the relevant parties). The JIS draft is then deliberated upon by the Japanese Industrial 
Standards Committee (JISC) and is formally enforced or revised by the Minister in charge. The process of JIS development is as shown in Figure 2. 8275129750818935478721632191,7354094233951473661,5661,651575
0 500 1000 1500 2000MiscellaneousInformation ProcessingAircraft and AviationMedical Equipment and Safety AppliancesDomestic WaresCeramicsManagement SystemPulp and PaperMiningTextile EngineeringChemical EngineeringNonferrous Materials and MetallurgyFerrous Materials and MetallurgyShipbuildingRailway EngineeringAutomotive EngineeringElectronic and Eletronical EngineeringMechanical EngineeringCivil Engineering and ArchitectureFigure 1  Number of JIS by SectorG/TBT/W/357 
 
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Figure 2: JIS Development Process 
 
   
  
  
 
     
 
 
Submission  Inquiry  Report  Establishment 
 
 
   
  
 
    
Government 
Industries, etc  Minister in charge 
 Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC)
 Minister in charge  
  4.2.  Regarding development of Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), the Japanese Industrial 
Standards Committee (JISC) discloses the work plan for developing JIS to the public and officially 
announces accepting opinions on the JIS draft,  based on the WTO/TBT Agreement Article 4.1, 
Annex 3 (Code of Good practice). 
4.3.  The work plan including name, address, developing JIS draft is published on JISC Homepage 
(in Japanese) at least once a six-month in accordance  with the Code of Good Practice, Paragraph J.  
4.4.  In addition, based on Code of Good Practi ce, Paragraph L, official announcement of public 
consultation on the JIS draft is published on JISC HP (both in English and in Japanese). This 
enables interested stakeholders to allow a period of at least 60 days to submit their comments before Minister in charge finalises JIS. Figure 3 provides an example of publication on English version of JISC HP. Disclosure of the work plan for 
developing JIS 
(Code of Good Practice, 
Paragraph J) Official announcement of 
accepting opinions on the JIS draft 
(Code of Good Practice,  
Paragraph L) 
JIS draft Deliberation on the JIS draft Notification in the official gazette  
Making JIS draft G/TBT/W/357 
 
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Figure 3 ：Example of publication on JISC Homepage 
 
 
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4.5.  The above is the experiences of Japan's im plementation based on Paragraph J and L of the 
Code of Good Practice upon WTO/TBT Agreement. Japan would like to ask other WTO members to exchange information on their domestic situation regarding compliance with and implementation 
method of Paragraph J and L of the Code of Good Practice. 
4.6.  Japan provides a period of at least 60 days for official announcement of accepting opinions on 
JIS drafts, even where they are identical (IDT) to  the International Standards, based on Paragraph 
L of the Code of Good Practice. However, in light of the fact that, with regard to the technical 
regulation, WTO/TBT Agreement 2.9 stipulates that Members need not notify nor allow reasonable time for other Members to make comments when proposed technical regulation is in accordance with the relevant international standard, some argue that it would not be necessary to provide the 
opportunities to submit comments for JIS drafts which are IDT to the International Standards. 
Therefore, Japan would like to exchange opin ions regarding whether or not each member's G/TBT/W/357 
 
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  standardizing body is also required to provid e a period of at least 60 days for official 
announcement of accepting opinions even for Standards which are IDT to the International Standards. 
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