NATIONAL PROFILE on Chemicals Management - UNITAR

7 2.3 Council of Ministries and Agencies on Dioxin policyThe Council exchanges information on the dioxin issue among relevant ministries andagencies and makes efforts to cooperate strategically and effectively.7 2.4 Inter-Ministerial Meeting on High ProductionVolume (HPV) ChemicalsThe OECD is operating the HPV project (High Production Volume Chemicals: HPVchemicals are chemical substances produced in at least one member country in the amountof more than 1,000 tons per year) through which member countries are cooperating toacquire data on the safety of chemical substances which are widely used but where safety datais not yet sufficient, undertake hazard assessment on them and share the results. At theMeeting, based on information from other countries, officials exchange information andcooperate among relevant ministries and agencies with the aim of effectively promoting thedomestic assessment of the chemical substances which Japan is charged with.7 2.5 Inter-Ministerial Meeting on Good LaboratoryPractice (GLP)Currently, there are a number of GLPs schemes in Japan, such as GLP for pharmaceuticalproducts (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Organisation forPharmaceutical Safety and Research (OPSR/Kiko)), GLP for chemicals (Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)), GLP inline with the Industrial Safety and Health Law (MHLW), GLP for pesticide products(Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)), GLP for veterinary drugs (MAFF),and GLP for feed additives (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)).Having created implementation standards based on the relevant legislation, variousauthorities conduct inspections and examinations over those GLPs.Although arrangements exist among these authorities concerning the acceptance of theresults of the inspections and examinations between GLP for pharmaceutical products andGLP for chemicals, or between GLP for chemicals and GLP in line with the Industrial Safetyand Health Law, there is no such arrangement for other GLPs. Therefore some testingfacilities receive repeated inspections and examinations by multiple authorities, and this hasplaced a heavy burden on the testing facilities.In order to apply and implement these GLP schemes effectively and efficiently, and todeal with OECD matters smoothly, relevant ministries and agencies have established a forumfor exchange of information, and are deliberating on the way to resolve issues related to GLP.51