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Japan Toy Association Publishes 3rd Edition to Toy Safety Standard ST 2016

27 Aug 2020
orig toys on floor

Toys entering the Japan market are required to comply with the Japan Food Sanitation Law (JFSL) and/or the Japan Toy Safety Standard (ST Standard). JFSL is a legislative mandatory requirement for toys intended for children up to the age of 6, whereas the ST standard is a popular voluntary standard established by the Japan Toy Association (JTA) for toys intended for children up to the age of 14. For the ST standard, only toys that have achieved compliance may display the ST Mark.

The ST standard was revised in 2016 to include three parts & align with the International Standards (ISO 8124):

  • ST Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties (aligned with ISO 8124-1)

  • ST Part 2: Flammability (aligned with ISO 8124-2)

  • ST Part 3: Chemical properties

ST-2016 3rd Edition:

Upon the board meeting held on December 3, 2019, the ST Standard Part 1 (Mechanical/Physical Properties) was further amended and a revised version of the ST Standards (Toy Safety Standards ST-2016 3rd Edition) has been distributed recently.
The major revisions include updating requirements and test methods for cord on toys, acoustic toys and expanding material. In addition, the fall testing and definition of large and bulky toys are also amended. The standard is more aligned with ISO 8124-1:2018.

The major outline of the revision in ST-2016 3rd Edition - Part 1 is as follows:

  1. Updated test requirement (clause 4.11) and test method (clause 5.11) for “Cords”
    • Separate the requirements for toy intended for children under 18 months and over 18 months
  2. Updated test requirement (clause 4.23) and test method (clause 5.28) for "acoustic toys"
    • Delete “impulsive sounds” “continuous sounds” from the definitions and the descriptions of test requirement & test method
    • Added new requirement of the A-weighted maximum sound pressure level (LpAFmax) for toys where the sound is caused as a result of the movement imparted on the toy by the child
    • Updated the limit of C-weighted peak sound pressure level, LpCpeak, produced by close-to-the-ear toys from “95 dB” to “110 dB”
  3. Revised test requirement (clause 4.3.2) and test method (clause 5.19) for "expanding material"
    • The requirements in clause 4.3.2 are not applicable after testing to 5.22 (reasonably foreseeable abuse tests)
    • Add new note: a toy that, at time of purchase, is in an expanded state, the small part size assessment is completed when it is in a shrunken state
  4. Expand the scope of “large and bulky toys” by adding “or a mass of 4,5 kg or more” into the definition (clause 3.80)
  5. Updated the test method of “Tip-over test for large and bulky toy” (clause 5.22.3)

Effective Date:

The application of the revised standard (ST-2016 3rd edition) for ST mark inspection will start on June 1, 2020.  The existing 2nd edition of ST 2016 remains valid until 31 December 2020. During this transitional period, both sets of standards are accepted for the ST Certification Mark.



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