What would legally block your product in Japan

GENKAN checks a consumer product against Japanese product law before a brand commits stock. One product, five working days, a go / no-go verdict.

The problem this solves

Japanese product regulation does not map onto the US or UK framework. A wooden teether is a food-contact article rather than a toy. Sunscreen is a quasi-drug, not a cosmetic. A dosage line on a protein powder can read as a medicine claim. None of that is visible from outside, and most of it is found at customs, after the container has been paid for.

Separately, every non-Japanese seller has needed a customs representative in Japan since October 2023, and Japan is first-to-file on trademarks — whoever registers your name owns it there, brand or not.

Compliance Flag Report

£395 · five working days

One product, checked against fourteen Japanese legal and compliance gates, plus the trademark position on the Japanese register.

電気用品安全法 (PSE, electrical safety)
技適 (Giteki, radio certification)
薬機法 (Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Act)
食品衛生法 (Food Sanitation Act)
食品表示法 (Food Labelling Act)
家庭用品品質表示法 (Household Goods Labelling)
Medical device classification
Allergen labelling
Plant quarantine
Pesticide registration
PSLPG (gas appliances)
Alcohol and tobacco licensing
ACP / customs representative
Trademark occupancy (J-PlatPat)

What you getAn Excel workbook and a phone-readable report. Every gate that fires, what it requires, an indicative cost and timeline for each fix, who you would need to take it to, and the order to do them in.

TurnaroundFive working days, starting when your answers to the intake questions come back — not when you pay. Next working day available at £790.

RevisionsOne consolidated round, raised within 48 working hours of delivery.

Read a real report — an anonymised Compliance Flag Report, exactly as delivered.

What happens next, if it clears

Where a product is viable, GENKAN builds the Japanese listing from scratch: title, bullets, description, structured attributes and backend search terms, as a paste-ready copy sheet. Localised product images are available alongside it. The £395 comes off that work in full if you go on to it.

Every Japanese line is written to a documented rulebook and reviewed by a native speaker before it is signed off.

Refunds and cancellation

Cancel any time before work starts for a full refund, no questions asked. Once the report has been delivered it is not refundable, because it is research work supplied in full. If a rush fee was paid and the rush deadline is missed, the rush premium is refunded. If a primary source is unavailable — the Japanese trademark register schedules outages — you are told the same day and the rush premium comes back rather than the checks being compressed.

Scope

GENKAN is advisory. It is not a law firm, a certification body, or a registered Japan compliance agent, and nothing it produces is legal advice or a certification opinion. It identifies where Japanese regulation is likely to apply to a product and what would need resolving, so those questions can be taken to the right specialist. Decisions about compliance, registration and importation remain yours, taken on your own professional advice. Japan today; the EU equivalent is in build.

Genkan · pre-entry Japan compliance for consumer brands
Umar Hussain, trading as Genkan · a sole trader registered in the United Kingdom
3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom

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