December 2022
No. A&S_020

Overview of the Food Labeling Act
1.

Introduction

The Food Labeling Act came into effect in April 2015. The Food Labeling Act unifies regulations pertaining
to food labeling including the "Food Sanitation Act" aimed at ensuring food safety, the "Japanese
Agricultural Standards" which determines quality standards, and the "Health Promotion Act" that aims tomaintain health and prevent modern ailments. Its purpose is to ensure food consumption safety, as wellas the role to ensure that consumers are given the opportunity to make food choices rationally and of theirown accord.
The Food Labeling Act had not been fully enforceable as it was subject to transitional grace period untilApril 1, 2022, on which date the period of transitional grace period concluded, and the Food Labeling Act
became fully effective. In other words, at present, all foods sold for consumer consumption are subject tolabeling rules under the Food Labeling Act, and all businesses are required to comply to said rules. This
newsletter explains the labeling rules under the Food Labeling Act, and measures taken against acts ofimproper labeling.
A&S's Food and Agriculture Practice Group advises on the rules pertaining to food labeling, and otherrelated matters. Our Practice Group is willing to support any issues related to the food labeling regulations.

2. Overview of labeling rules under the Food Labeling Act(1) Content requiring labelingSpecific rules under the Food Labeling Act (hereinafter, the "Act") are set forth in the Food LabelingStandards (hereinafter, the "Standards"), established under Article 4 of the Act. Standards classify foodinto processed foods and perishable foods, and prescribe the food and additive information to be labeledon containers and packaging, etc. The breakdown of processed foods and perishable foods, and main items
that are required to be labeled for each are as follows. In addition, foods that meet certain criteria mustalso indicate allergens, information pertaining to foods for specified health use and foods with functional
claims, and country of origin.

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No. A&S_020

Food content

Perishable foods[Agricultural Products]
Rice (*1), wheats, grains,beans, vegetables, fruits,and other agriculturalproducts[Livestock Products]
Meats, dairy, eggs, andother agriculturalproducts.
[Marine Products]
Fish, shellfish, aquaticanimals, marine
mammals, sea kelp
[Brown Rice and MilledRice]
Brown rice, milled rice,glutinous milled rice,leavy milled rice,
ingredient brown rice

Items that are required for labeling when sold to general
consumers:-Name-Area of origin(items related to Article 18 Paragraph 1 of the Standards)-Name-Area of origin(items related to Article 18 Paragraph 1 of the Standards)-Name-Area of origin(items related to Article 18 Paragraph 1 of the Standards)

Processed Foods-Name- Raw Material Brown Rice
-VolumeProcessing period, milling period, or import period-Name or company name of person engaged in food-related
business, etc., address, and telephone number(Related to Appendix Table 24 of the Standards)
Processed vegetables and-Namefruits, spices, noodles and -How to store
breads, dairy products,-Consumption date or best-before datesnacks, seasonings and-Ingredientssoup, drinks, etc.
-Additives-Volume or solid mass, and total volume(*2)-Nutrient amount and calories-Name or company name of person engaged in food-relatedbusiness, etc., and address-Location of the manufacturing or processing plant and the name of
the manufacturer or processor, etc.
-Name or company name of person engaged in food-related
business, etc., address, and telephone number(Items related to Article 3 Paragraph 1 of the Standards)*1 "Items packaged in containers for the purpose of selling to consumers" is classified under "brown riceand milled rice."*2 Foods that fall under the category of processed foods are listed in Appendix Table 1 of the Standards.
An excerpt is listed here.
(2) Method of labeling (Article 22 of the Standards)
With regard to items that require labeling, aside from certain cases, perishable foods packaged incontainers and packages must be labeled in an easily viewable and clearly visible location without opening
the container or package. On the other hand, for perishable foods that are not packaged in containers orpackages, placing labels in close proximity to the food, in an easily viewable location is sufficient.

3. Measures against improper labeling, etc. (Articles 6 through 10-2 of the Act)
Person engaged in food-related business, etc. whose labeling is improper will be subject to the following
three measures:(1) Directives and orders to include the necessary content on the label or comply with compliance matters.
Subject to orders to include the necessary content on the label, or comply with compliance matters (Article6.1-6.4 of Act). The fact that orders were given will be made public (Article 7 of the Act). Failure to comply
with these orders will result in further orders towards compliance (Article 6.5 of Act). The fact that theorders were given will be made public (Article 7 of Act), and violation of the order will be punishable byimprisonment or a fine (Articles 20 and 22.1, item2 of the Act).

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December 2022
No. A&S_020(2) Order to suspend business, etc.
In the event that a food product is sold or attempted to be sold without labeling that conforms to theStandards for items that have a significant impact on food safety when consumed (allergens, expiration
date, whether heating is required for safe consumption, etc.), the food product is subject to a recall or othernecessary order, or order to suspend business (Article 6.8 of the Act), and the order will be made public(Article 7 of the Act). Failure to comply or violation of these orders to take measures or order to suspend
business will be punishable by imprisonment or a fine (Articles 17 and 22.1, item 2 of the Act). In addition
to person engaged in food-related business, etc., food retailers are also subject to such orders and businesssuspension orders (Article 2.3, item 2 of the Act)
(3) Onside inspections
When a government body finds that confirming proper labeling of food products is necessary for foodproducts intended for retail, person engaged in food-related business, etc., business operators or theiremployees who have a relationship with person engaged in food-related business, etc. regarding theirbusiness, are subject to on-site inspection, collection of reports, orders to submit documents, etc.,
questions, and removal (Articles 8 through 10 of the Act). Failure to comply with these orders is punishable
by imprisonment or a fine (Articles 21 and 22.1, item 2 of the Act).
(4) Tort liability
For example, in the case of illegal allergy labeling, if a consumer who purchased the food product suffers
health problems due to the illegal labeling, the consumer may claim compensation for damages based on
tort (Civil Code Article 709).

4. Obligation to notify voluntary recalls
Voluntary recalls of food products not in compliance with food labeling standards for food safety must be
notified to the administrative agency (Article 10.21 of the Act), and such notification will be made public(Article 10.2 of the Act). According to published examples of food recalls, most recalls are conductedvoluntarily.

5. Measurement Act, etc.
Although the above are based on the Food Labeling Act, it should be noted that some types of products aresubject to the Measurement Law and may be prohibited from using certain expressions, such as faircompetition codes and organic labeling (Article 3 of Japan Agricultural Standards and Article 5 of theJapanese Agricultural Standards for Organic Agricultural Products).
End of text---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THIS NEWSLETTER IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION ONLY; IT DOES NOT CONSISTUTE ANDSHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS LEGAL ADVICE.
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December 2022
No. A&S_020

Authors/Contacts
Shintaro Hoshino
AssociateDaini Tokyo Bar Association
E: shintaro.hoshino@aplaw.jp

Yasuhiro UsuiPartnerA&S Fukuoka LPC, Fukuoka Bar Association
E: yasuhiro.usui@aplaw.jp

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Atsumi & Sakai is a multi-award-winning, independent Tokyo law firm with a dynamic and innovative approach to legal
practice; it has been responsible for a number of ground-breaking financial deal structures and was the first Japanese law
firm to create a foreign law joint venture and so admit foreign lawyers as full partners. Expanding from its highly regarded
finance practice, the firm now acts for a wide range of international and domestic companies, banks, financial institutions
and other businesses, offering a comprehensive range of legal expertise.
Atsumi & Sakai has an outward-looking approach to its international practice, and has several foreign lawyers with extensive
experience from leading international law firms, so providing its clients with the benefit of both Japanese law expertise andreal international experience.
We are the only independent Japanese law firm which is located in New York, London and Frankfurt which together withour Tokyo head office enables us to provide real-time advice on Japanese law to our clients globally.

Atsumi & Sakai
www.aplawjapan.com/en/
Tokyo Head Office: Fukoku Seimei Bldg., 2-2-2 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0011, Japan
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1. ABOUT ATSUMI & SAKAI
Atsumi & Sakai is a partnership consisting of Atsumi & Sakai Legal Professional Corporation, a Japanese professional corporation, a foreign law joint venture underthe Act on Special Measures Concerning the Handling of Legal Services by Foreign Lawyers with certain Registered Foreign Lawyers of our firm, a Japanese Civil Codepartnership among Japanese lawyers, represented by Yutaka Sakai, a lawyer admitted in Japan, and a foreign law joint venture with Janssen Foreign Law Office,represented by Markus Janssen, a foreign lawyer registered in Japan to advise on the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition to lawyers admitted inJapan, our firm includes foreign lawyers registered in Japan to advise on the laws of the US States of New York and California, the People’s Republic of China, India,England and Wales, and the State of Queensland, Australia. Foreign lawyers registered in Japan to advise on state laws also are qualified to provide advice in Japan on
the federal laws of their respective jurisdictions.
Atsumi & Sakai has established an office in London operating as Atsumi & Sakai Europe Limited (a company incorporated in England and Wales (No: 09389892); sole
director Naoki Kanehisa, a lawyer admitted in Japan), and has established an affiliate office in New York operating as Atsumi & Sakai New York LLP (a limited liability
partnership established in New York; managing partner Bonnie L. Dixon, a lawyer admitted in New York and a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Japan). We also havea partnership with A&S Fukuoka LPC in Japan (partner: Yasuhiro Usui, a lawyer admitted in Japan) and an affiliate office in Frankfurt operating as Atsumi & Sakai
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will undertake any reserved legal activity as defined in the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007. Advice provided in Germany on the laws of Germany will beprovided by a lawyer admitted in Germany, and advice provided in New York on the laws of New York will be provided by a lawyer admitted in New York.

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