Top > Press Releases > Back Issues > July 2008> Guidelines for Ensuring Reliability of the Certification System for Management System Standards
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has announced the
publication of the Guidelines for Ensuring Reliability of the
Certification System for Management System Standards. The guidelines
were compiled after METI and various concerned parties, such as
accreditation and certification institutions, spent the period since
September 2007 reviewing issues potentially requiring action by the
parties concerned in order to ensure reliability of the Certification
System for Management System Standards, and subsequent to receiving
public comments. METI looks forward to seeing accreditation and
certification institutions, among other parties concerned, move forward
with voluntary efforts to streamline and implement the guidelines in
the near future, so that guideline objectives can be achieved.
1. The Certification System for Management System Standards, such as
ISO 9001 (quality management system) and ISO 14001 (environmental
management system), is designed to certify, in accordance with
established international standards, the existence of appropriate
systems for quality improvement, eco-friendliness, and related issues,
in corporate and other organizations.
2. Recently, however, numerous scandals involving certification have
occurred at companies that have acquired management certifications. The
system is seen as not being able to prevent such scandals from
occurring, and it is therefore difficult to say that society’s trust in
the system is increasing.
3. In order to ensure the reliability of the system, since September
2007 METI has been reviewing issues potentially requiring action of
concerned parties, such as accreditation and certification
institutions, with those parties. Subsequently, after collecting and
considering public comments on the various issues, METI compiled the
Guidelines for Ensuring Reliability of the Certification System for
Management System Standards.
4. The guidelines call for concerned parties to make the system easier
to understand for society via full information disclosure regarding the
overall system, and implementation of thorough audits that address not
only nominal structure but also actual performance, among other
measures. METI looks forward to seeing accreditation and certification
institutions, among other parties concerned, move forward with
voluntary efforts to streamline and implement the guidelines in the
near future, so that guideline objectives can be achieved.
5. As there is shared international awareness of potential problems
with the reliability of the system, METI, in collaboration with
parties concerned , plans to make proposals based on the guidelines to
major foreign countries and international organizations, such as the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the
International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF).
Release Date
July 29, 2008
Division in Charge
Conformity Assessment Division, Industrial Science and
Technology Policy and Environment Bureau
