To sell imported food in Japan you need a Japanese-language label. Applying a sticker over the country-of-origin packaging is the usual approach, but what must appear on it is fixed by the Food Labelling Act, and a missing sticker or an omitted item is a legal violation as it stands.
Imported food carries the Japanese labelling obligation too
Japanese labelling under the Food Labelling Act applies to imported food as well, and the basic items — from the product name through to nutritional information — must all be present. Broadly, the following.
- Product name
- Ingredients (including additives)
- Net contents
- Best-before or use-by date
- Storage method
- Country of origin
- Name and address of the importer
- Nutritional information
- Allergens
Of these, the importer’s name and address means the importing business appears publicly as the responsible party. It is closer to practice to regard the label not as a translation exercise but as a declaration of responsibility.
Allergens: eight mandatory, twenty recommended
Allergen labelling is what can least afford to be overlooked. The eight specified raw materials, judged to have the highest need for labelling based on incidence and severity, must be declared on all processed foods.
- Shrimp, crab, walnut, wheat, buckwheat, egg, milk, peanut
An omission is a legal violation. Separately, twenty recommended items exist as “materials equivalent to specified raw materials”. These carry no legal obligation, but labelling them is considered desirable for consumer safety.
How walnut came to be mandatory
The figure of eight is not fixed. Walnut was moved from the recommended list to the mandatory list. Reusing older material or an old template risks missing a currently mandatory item. Check the current standard each time you prepare a label.
Where things get stuck in practice
- Ingredient granularity — where the origin-country label groups items as “mixed spices”, Japanese standards may require them broken out
- Cross-contamination — advisory wording where specified raw materials are handled on the same line
- Nutritional figures — evidence for the analytical values may be requested
- Date format — the order of year, month and day differs by country
None of these can be filled in without obtaining documents from the manufacturer. Since it is too late once shipping is arranged, we recommend drafting a label before the purchase is decided. Doing so surfaces exactly which documents are missing.
We handle shelf-life management and Japanese labelling — including review of the displayed items — alongside sourcing agency work.
Primary sources referenced
- Labelling of foods containing allergens (Consumer Affairs Agency)
- Food labelling planning (Consumer Affairs Agency)
※ This article summarises the outline of the system. Labelling standards are revised over time. Please confirm current primary sources when preparing an actual label.
