Japan Proposes to Allow Alternative Names in SDS to Protect Trade Secrets
Tokyo, November 2025 — Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has proposed allowing the use of alternative chemical names in Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) to protect confidential business information (CBI).
The proposal is based on two draft documents:
a draft Ministerial Notification, published on 17 October 2025, setting the eligibility criteria; and
a draft Implementation Guidelines, published on 23 October 2025, outlining procedures and processes for omitting or replacing parts of a chemical structure in the chemical name.
Under Japan’s Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISHL), companies are required to classify, label, and provide SDSs for hazardous chemicals in accordance with the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Employers must also obtain and retain SDSs for all hazardous chemicals used in their facilities.
While GHS requires disclosure of the chemical identity and associated hazards, this information often contains trade secrets that companies often seek to protect.
Eligibility and Limitations
Under the new proposal, companies may mask the chemical identity in an SDS unless the substance is classified as:
A carcinogen, mutagen, or reproductive toxin (CMR);
Category 1 for aspiration hazard, respiratory or skin sensitization, skin corrosion/irritation, serious eye damage/eye irritation, or single/repeated specific target organ toxicity (STOT); or
Category 1–3 for acute toxicity.
For mixtures, the concentration of the component must not exceed the cut-off value that would trigger any of these hazard classifications.
If approved, companies may replace or omit up to two structural elements with generic terms, including:
the base or parent compound structure,
the structure and number of counter ions,
stereoisomeric information, and
the structure, number, or position of substituent groups.
Additionally, details like the position numbers and number of substituents on the parent compound may be deleted or replaced with generalized descriptions.
Next Steps
Public comments are open until 16 November 2025 for the draft implementation guidelines and 22 November 2025 for the draft Ministerial Notification. The proposal is expected to be finalized by December 2025 and enter into force on 1 April 2026.
Implications for Industry
The move is likely to be welcomed by industries, especially the fragrances, coatings, and food contact materials sectors where chemical identities are closely guarded as trade secrets. However, the exemption applies only to low-hazard chemicals, limiting its scope.
Moreover, for substances already identifiable by CAS numbers, the confidentiality protection may offer limited benefit. The use of masked identities may also complicate supply chain communication, as downstream users may still require full disclosure for reporting or compliance with other regulations.
