Kitchenware & food-contact items × The Japanese buyer / distributor imports

Rules verified as of 2026-08-08 · reviewed quarterly (next review: November 2026)

Typical products: Dishes, cutlery, bottles, food containers, cooking tools

Yes — plates and bottles go through the Food Sanitation Act import notification like food does. Synthetic-resin items must meet the positive list.

Which regimes apply

Food Sanitation Act import notification (食品衛生法)

Food, drinks and supplements — AND food-contact utensils, containers and packaging, and toys for infants — require an import notification (食品等輸入届出) to the quarantine station BEFORE customs clearance. Synthetic-resin food-contact items must comply with the positive list. The notifier must be an importer in Japan.

File 食品等輸入届出 with the quarantine station before clearance (electronic: NACCS)
Prepare composition/material documentation; resin items: positive-list compliance
Expect document review and possible inspection orders on first import

Sources: MHLW — import monitoring

Household Goods Quality Labeling Act (家庭用品品質表示法)

Textiles, plastics and certain household goods must carry the prescribed Japanese quality labels at retail (fiber composition, care symbols, handling notes). This is a labeling duty at the point of sale, not an import barrier.

Prepare Japanese quality/care labels before retail sale
Textiles: fiber composition + JIS care symbols + handler name

Sources: CAA — household goods labeling

Customs: duty, consumption tax and the importer of record

Every commercial import needs an importer of record with post-release disposal authority, correct HS classification, duty and 10% consumption tax. A non-resident importer files through an Attorney for Customs Procedures (ACP, 税関事務管理人) and needs a tax agent for JCT recovery.

Classify the product (HS code) and check the duty rate
Convert values with the official customs FX rate
Non-residents: appoint ACP (form C-7500) before the first declaration

Sources: Customs Answer 9601 — ACP

→ Tools: tariff finder & landed-cost calculator · customs FX rates · Guides: IOR, ACP

Who can be the importer — verdict

Your Japanese buyer is the importer of record and carries the product-regime duties (notifications, marks, records). Your job as the seller is to supply the documentation that lets them comply: technical files, certificates, materials lists, test reports. Price accordingly (usually FOB/CIF, not DDP).

Your checklist

Agree Incoterms where the buyer clears customs (FOB/CIF, not DDP)
Deliver the compliance documentation pack for the regimes above
Confirm the buyer's notifications/licenses exist before shipping
[Food Sanitation Act import notification (食品衛生法)] File 食品等輸入届出 with the quarantine station before clearance (electronic: NACCS)
[Food Sanitation Act import notification (食品衛生法)] Prepare composition/material documentation; resin items: positive-list compliance
[Food Sanitation Act import notification (食品衛生法)] Expect document review and possible inspection orders on first import
[Household Goods Quality Labeling Act (家庭用品品質表示法)] Prepare Japanese quality/care labels before retail sale
[Household Goods Quality Labeling Act (家庭用品品質表示法)] Textiles: fiber composition + JIS care symbols + handler name
[Customs: duty, consumption tax and the importer of record] Classify the product (HS code) and check the duty rate
[Customs: duty, consumption tax and the importer of record] Convert values with the official customs FX rate
[Customs: duty, consumption tax and the importer of record] Non-residents: appoint ACP (form C-7500) before the first declaration