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Chemical Weapons

To support national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention - Japan’s experience of the industry verification -

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japanese Government has opened this web site to support officers in the National Authorities of developing countries who are responsible for implementing the industry verification regime of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and managers of companies which are subject to the regime. This site briefly explains the Act on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and Control, etc. of Special Chemicals, or the Chemical Weapons Prohibition Law, and its auxiliary laws which are instituted to implement the CWC, especially its industry verification regime, in Japan and provides a range of information materials about how the industry declarations and inspections are carried out in Japan, including presentation slides used at National Authority meetings held by the OPCW. We shall add or renew such materials from time to time. We hope that this site could contribute　to the national implementation of industry verification regime in your country.

Please send your comments and suggestions on this site to the following address, by post in English or Japanese.

Chemical Weapon & Drug Materials Control Policy Office 　
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 　
Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, TOKYO 100-8901 JAPAN 　

Brief History of National Implementation

The CWC entered into force on 29 April 1997, whose objective is the elimination and non-proliferation of chemical weapons. The Convention obligates all States Parties not to develop, produce, stockpile nor use chemical weapons, and also obligates possessing Parties to destroy their chemical weapons and chemical weapon production facilities within 10 years after its entry into force. It establishes the verification (declarations and inspections) regime through which the OPCW confirm the fulfilment of these obligations. Besides the verification regime to verify the destruction of chemical weapons and chemical weapon production facilities, the CWC includes the industry verification regime to monitor the non-diversion of some dual-use chemicals at industrial facilities that can be used for chemical weapon production as well as peaceful purposes.

Japan enacted the Chemical Weapons Prohibition Law on 5 April 1995 for the national implementation of the CWC. Some provisions of the Law for the control of special chemicals such as sarin went into effect on 5 May 1995, not waited for the CWC’s entry into force, to prevent chemical terror like Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack by Aum Shinrikyo cult on 20 March of the same year. Japan ratified the Convention on 15 September 1995. Since then the National Authority, a cooperative entity between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence, has steadily performed duties set by the Convention such as declarations and receiving inspections. It is a principle of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that the Ministry rigorously implements the Law, bearing in mind Diet resolutions accompanying enactment of the Law, without placing unnecessary burdens on industries to accomplish the objective of the Convention effectively and efficiently.

On 16 November 2001, Japan amended seven laws including the Chemical Weapons Prohibition Law to ratify and implement the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings that entered into force on 23 May in the same year.