What most often trips up imported cosmetics is the wording of advertising and labelling. Rendering the claims used on the country-of-origin website or packaging directly into Japanese can cross the line drawn by the PMD Act. The efficacy claims a cosmetic may make are a defined set.
Cosmetic claims are limited to a range of 56
The efficacy a cosmetic may express in advertising is limited to the 56 items set out as the “scope of efficacy of cosmetics”. They read as expressions aimed at gently conditioning: “makes the skin smooth”, “makes the hair supple”, “tightens the skin”, and so on.
This derives from the definition of a cosmetic itself. A cosmetic is a product for cleansing and beautifying the body, positioned as having a mild action on the body. Expressions implying treatment of disease, or influence on bodily structure or function, fall outside that definition.
The line that is easily crossed
What causes problems in practice are expressions that read as acting on the body’s mechanisms themselves. Phrasings such as “promotes turnover” or “boosts metabolism” go beyond the cosmetic range.
“Conditioning” the skin is a cosmetic. The moment you say it “changes” how the skin works, it is no longer a cosmetic.
Overseas brand sites are written to that country’s regulations. Some countries permit wider expression than Japan; some narrower. Accuracy of translation and legality in Japan are separate questions.
What can be said outside the efficacy claims
Even for claims not among the 56, the following two may be expressed where factually true.
- Make-up effect — that the appearance actually becomes so
- Sensory experience — how it feels in use
It is often possible to rebuild the messaging from these starting points. Being unable to claim efficacy does not mean nothing can be said.
Order of review
- Write out every claim used in the country of origin
- Separate those falling within the 56 from those that do not
- For those that do not, consider whether they can be recast as make-up effect or sensory experience
- Drop what cannot be recast
- Apply the same standard to the label, the e-commerce product page and every piece of promotional material
Item 5 is the one most often missed. Getting the label right achieves nothing if promotional material handed to a wholesaler, or the description on your own online store, still carries the old wording. Review every piece of text attached to the product against the same standard.
We handle PMD Act-compliant label translation and ingredient checking, and can advise on alternative wording for claims.
References
- Cosmetics and quasi-drugs (MHLW)
- Labelling of cosmetics (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health)
※ This article summarises the outline of the system. Whether a particular expression is permitted rests with the competent authority. Please confirm current primary sources when producing advertising.
