New Toy Regulations for Children’s Safety to be Introduced

1. Background to the revision

Concerning magnetic amusement products (“magnet sets”), 11 accidents were reported from 2017 to 2022 in which children accidentally swallowed multiple magnets, causing the powerful magnets to attract each other across the intestinal wall, and requiring abdominal surgery to remove the magnets. Concerning water-absorbing synthetic resin toys (“balls that expand with water”), four accidents were reported in 2021, in which infants accidentally swallowed these products, causing the products to greatly expand in the intestines also necessitating abdominal surgery to remove the products. These two types of products are considered to have a high risk of causing accidents and serious damage to users in the event of a similar accident. Accordingly, it is decided to list these products in the specified products for regulation and to regulate the sale of these products that do not comply with the technical requirements.

The Consumer Product Safety Act defines “consumer products that are found to be highly likely to cause harm particularly to the lives or health of general consumers in consideration of these products' structure, material qualities, and usage, etc.” as “specified products” under the Order for Enforcement of the Consumer Production Safety Act, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) regulates the manufacture and sale of the specified products.

2. Outline of the revision

The following two types of products are to be added to Appended Table 1 of the Order for Enforcement of the Consumer Production Safety Act, which lists the specified products under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

• Magnet amusement products (limited to those used as toys or other amusement products with mutual attraction between magnets, in which the individual magnets or parts using magnets that make up one product are not larger than the size specified by the Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry*)
• Water-absorbing synthetic resin toys (limited to those which contain the part using the synthetic resin that expands by absorbing water with the size before absorbing water being not lager than the size specified by the Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry*)

*Note: The Order of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will stipulate the size of products that are likely to be swallowed by infants to not be larger than the size that fits into a cylinder for small parts specified by ISO 8124-1.

Note 1: In line with ISO 8124-1, the technical requirements for magnetic amusement products will require the magnetic flux index (result multiplying the square of the maximum magnetic flux density by the area of the pole surface of the magnet) to be less than 50 kG²∙mm², which is a magnetic force that will allow the products to be naturally discharged from the body even if accidentally swallowed.

Note 2: In line with ISO 8124-1, the technical requirements for water-absorbing synthetic resin toys will require the products to not expand beyond 50% from the size before absorbing water, which is the level where the products will be naturally discharged from the body even if accidentally swallowed.

Coming schedule:

Promulgation: May 19 (Fri.), 2023
Enforcement: June 19 (Mon.), 2023

3. Effects of the revision

So-called “magnet sets” include magnets that exceed the magnetic force that the technical requirements are to specify. Accordingly, they will not meet the safety requirements, and, therefore, the regulations will not allow selling these products.

Moreover, so-called “balls that expand with water” are products that expand beyond the expanding amount that the technical requirements are to specify. Accordingly, they will not meet the requirements, and therefore, the regulations will not allow selling these products.

Furthermore, in addition to being sold as toys, some magnet sets are sold with such descriptions as “For stress relief in people aged 14 or older.” These products will also be subject to the new regulations despite not being marketed to children, and selling of these products will not be allowed either.

4. Alert to consumers

If you have already purchased any magnet sets or balls that expand with water, please be very careful to keep them out of the reach of infants. (If you suspect that a child has accidentally swallowed any of these products, please have the child checked at a medical facility immediately as they present serious risks to health.)

Moreover, if you should ever find any of these magnet sets and balls that expand with water being sold, please refrain from purchasing them.
(From June 19, 2023, the sale of these products will be subject to the regulations.)

5. Actions to enforce the regulations

METI will strive to raise awareness of related businesses about the new regulations.

Moreover, it will request online marketplace operators to cooperate in preventing the sale of the magnet sets and balls that expand with water.

Reference: On May 16, 2023, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) also began raising consumer awareness regarding these products.

• Accidents Reported of Children Swallowing a Small "Ticking Bomb” -Alert to children accidentally swallowing products that stick together or expand inside the body- (in Japanese)

Related Materials (in Japanese)

• Outline(PDF:32KB)
• Draft provisions(PDF:38KB)
• Grounds for the revision(PDF:17KB)
• Comparison of prior and revised provisions(PDF:37KB)
• Provisions for reference(PDF:76KB)

Division in Charge

Product Safety Division, Industrial and Product Safety Policy Group