Background In Japan, cosmetics are primarily governed by the Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices（Act No. 145 of 1960) (also known as the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act (PMDA), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (PAA) or the 薬事法 (Yakujihō). In accordance with the Article 61 of PMDA, cosmetics must have the following information labelled on their immediate container or immediate packagin

On 26 May 2026, South Korea promulgated Amendment No. 21709 to the Korean Cosmetics Act, signaling a major regulatory shift in how cosmetics advertising will be assessed in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI). The amendment will enter into force on 27 November 2026. The amendment reflects growing concerns among regulators regarding the rapid proliferation of AI-generated promotional content, including synthetic influencers, deepfake endorsements, fabricated tes

South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has launched a public consultation ( (Public Notice No. 2026-012 , January 12, 2026) to partially amendment its, " Regulations on Cosmetic Safety Standards, etc. " The draft amendment proposes to harmonise the list of raw materials to eliminate any confusion regarding ingredients that cannot be used in cosmetics (Appendix 1) and ingredients that require restrictions on use (Appendix 2), among ingredients which can only be

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea (MFDS) announced partial revisions for the "ENFORCEMENT RULE OF THE COSMETICS ACT" under...

Cosmetic products in Korea are governed by the Cosmetics Act (Korean) (Act. No. 14264 of 2016 (Eng)) and broadly classified into 2 main...

Shiseido Company, Limited (“Shiseido”) will launch their "Wrinkle Deep Retinowhite 4" cream as a second launch under their "Shiseido...

Would you like to import cosmetics to Japan? Let's start with a little background information.