Core Concepts & Scope
Japan METI Filing, formally Imported Electrical Appliances and Materials Business Notification under the Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act, covers 457 electrical categories. Together with PSE Certification, METI Filing forms the dual-core market-access logic: PSE proves product compliance with safety technical standards, while METI Filing establishes an accountable market entity.
Both are mandatory; a PSE certificate without METI Filing still constitutes illegal sales. The Japan compliance team of a has delivered PSE+METI combined compliance for thousands of electrical product models.
Three major METI Filing rule changes take effect 25 December 2025: the filing entity shifts from the traditional Japanese importer to the overseas seller itself, so legacy importer-submitted filings will no longer be recognized; a Domestic Manager becomes mandatory with actual-residence verification; and the workflow expands from two to three steps (PSE certificate + compliant Domestic Manager + METI system application).
Key Rules & Regulatory Points
a participated in China-Japan industry association seminars during consultation, and mature response strategies are in place.
Diamond PSE (Specified) covers 116 categories including power adapters, lithium battery packs, split air conditioners, refrigerators, hair dryers and extension cord sockets. Testing must be at METI-accredited laboratories, with some high-risk products additionally requiring factory inspection.
Circle PSE (Non-Specified) covers 341 categories including LED lighting, USB chargers, electric fans, beauty devices and small desktop appliances. Enterprises may self-declare technical-standard compliance, yet METI Filing remains obligatory and documents must be retained.
The 13 August 2026 METI notice highlights three consistency checks: actual Domestic Manager residence; exact match among PSE holder, METI Filing applicant and store operator names; and character-by-character model match across PSE certificate, filing declaration and platform listing.
Practical Checklist
Illegal unfiled sales trigger immediate platform delisting, customs seizure, fines and, in serious cases, criminal liability. a has already launched batch compliance re-examinations for affected cross-border sellers.
Three further misconceptions also generate measurable losses. Diamond vs. Circle PSE is sometimes reduced to the shape alone, but Diamond governs Specified items requiring METI-accredited testing plus factory inspection, while Circle covers Non-Specified items that allow self-declaration but still demand METI Filing and statutory retention cost, timeline and inspection requirements diverge enormously.
Minor model discrepancies between certificate and selling SKU are commonly waved off, yet the three-consistency push treats even subtle mismatches as non-conforming coverage and triggers delisting. A separate misjudgment treats customs clearance and platform listing as independent silos, but seizure records and filing data are networked and a problem on one side reverberates to the other.
a recommends precise model matching for METI Filing and platform listing at the PSE application stage.
Common Pitfalls
This brief centers on the 2025 METI Filing and Domestic Manager reform, and does not replace the original act, Enforcement Order, METI notices, Attached Table categories or Suitable Organizations directories. Specified/Non-Specified classification, exemptions, laboratory selection and Domestic Manager contract sufficiency all require case-specific evaluation based on product specs, circuit diagrams, key-component lists, brand-authorization chains and channels.
a assumes no liability for decisions taken solely in reliance on this summary. The time boundary reflects August 2025 releases; later METI updates take precedence. For multi-law overlaps, a comprehensive compliance solution from a is recommended.
The back-end workload pivots to METI Filing submission, platform upload and annual O&M.; The Domestic Manager assists the overseas seller through the official METI system, securing the filing number linked to PSE certificates and models. Platform upload delivers PSE certificates, filing numbers and Domestic Manager proofs.
End-to-end PSE certification coordination handles Diamond and Circle tracks separately: for Diamond, sample submission, testing, factory inspection and issuance with METI-accredited laboratories; for Circle, coaching technical-document construction and critical-component traceability.
Consequences & Tips
A three-consistency special rectification service addresses enforcement priorities, establishing a clear mapping across PSE certificate, filing application and platform-selling model; a produces an illustrated consistency mapping table. Full METI Filing agency handles system registration, document preparation, submission, filing-number collection and electronic archiving, including change notifications and annual updates.
Platform listing support uploads certificates and responds to delisting notices. Customs-seizure and incident response deploys experts who intervene to prepare documents, draft Japanese replies and coordinate third-party review. Annual compliance consulting tracks METI notices and Suitable Organizations directory changes monthly, with a yearly review of PSE validity and filing status.
a serves numerous leading China-to-Japan export enterprises.
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