New Establishment and Revision of the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) (March 2020)

1. Outline of the new establishment and revision of standards

In March 2020, METI newly established 33 standards and revised 90 standards (see Appendix 1). In particular, METI believes that the following two establishments of new standards are especially important.

(1) Establishment of the JIS for volcanic glass powder used for concrete

Volcanic glass powder, a product of volcanic ash, when mixed into concrete, has been found to improve concrete’s strength and durability. This feature is expected to be utilized for concrete materials that need a high degree of strength.

As a volcanic country rich with a resource of volcanic glass powder, Japan should make further use of such powder in the field of construction and, to this end, it needs to develop an environment to encourage industries to make use of such powder, e.g., establishment of quality assessment and testing methods.

Against this backdrop, METI established JISA6209 for volcanic glass powder used for concrete.*

*Note: JISA6209 was established taking advantage of the Standard Development Program for the Creation of New Market

• Appearance of volcanic glass fine powder

(2) Establishment of the JIS for capsule-type air-circulation devices for measuring perspiration

As industries have been requested to meet a variety of energy-conservation measures in recent years, the advancement of products that strike a balance between energy conservation and comfort has come to the fore.

Industries have already developed devices for measuring perspiration, one of the barometers for identifying users’ comfortability, but no standards for measuring the performance of products involving the devices or those for assessing such performance have been stipulated. In this situation, industries have been facing a difficulty in assessing related products in a consistent manner when they disseminate such devices or develop such products boasting comfortability.

To overcome this challenge, METI established a JIS for capsule-type air-circulation devices for measuring perspiration. This establishment is expected to: contribute to developing an environment in which industries are able to assess the comfortability of products based on data; and thereby encourage industries’ research and development of related products and create new markets of outstanding products.

*Note: The JIS was established taking advantage of the Standard Development Program for the Creation of New Markets.

• Figure 1: Example of capsule-type air-circulation devices for measuring perspiration

• Figure 2: Principle of capsule-type air-circulation devices for measuring perspiration

2. Outline of the JIS

The JIS stipulate types and quality of products, data, services, etc., test or assessment methods for ascertaining such types and quality, and the values of standards that businesses are required to meet. Producers, service providers, product users and consumers and other stakeholders, for example, make use of these standards in their approaches to accessing quality products and enjoying provision of services in a secured manner.

METI has been establishing new standards or revising the existing ones for the JIS in response to technological advancements, changes in social environments and other factors as necessary.

For more information on the JIS, visit the following websites:

• The Japanese Industrial Standards Committee Link
• METI website for standardization and certification

For more information on the Standard Development Program for the Creation of New Market

For details of the respective JIS, visit the following website.

• Website for retrieving JIS

3. Past news releases

For past news releases related to the revision of JIS, visit the METI website.

4. Partial revision of the Industrial Standardization Act

The Bill for the Act of Partial Revision of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, etc. (Act No. 33 of 2018) was approved at the 196th ordinary session of the Diet in 2018 and the Act was established. In line with this, the Industrial Standardization Act was partially revised to newly entitle data and services as targets of standardization under the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) and to change the title of the Industrial Standardization Act from “Kogyo Hyojyunka Ho” to “Sangyo Hyojyunka Ho” in Japanese as well as the title of the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) from “Nihon Kogyo Kikaku” to “Nihon Sangyo Kikaku” in Japanese. The revised Act came into force on July 1, 2019.

• For more information, visit the METI website :

5. Contact counter of the respective JIS

If you wish to make any inquiry on details of the respective JIS that have been publicized, directly contact the divisions in charge of METI shown in Appendix 1. Please note that the division in charge of Item 1, (1) and (2) above is the International Standardization Division, METI.

Related Documents

• Appendix 1: List of Newly Established and Revised JIS Publicly Notified on March 23, 2020 (PDF:97KB)PDF
• Appendix 2: Establishment of the JIS for volcanic glass powder used for concrete (in Japanese) (PDF:33KB)PDF
• Appendix 3: Establishment of the JIS for capsule-type air-circulation devices for measuring perspiration (in Japanese) (PDF:348KB)PDF

Division in Charge

• Information on this press release:
  Standards and Conformity Assessment Public Relations Office, Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau
• Information on the respective JIS:
  International Standardization Division, Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau