Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Risk Prompts Govt to Name 36 Firms Over Product Safety Concerns

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:24 JST, December 25, 2025

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has published on its website the names of 36 businesses importing or selling products with safety concerns, following a series of accidents involving the combustion of lithium-ion storage batteries for phone rechargers and other devices.

Through the announcement, the ministry aims to raise awareness about unscrupulous businesses and prevent the distribution of dangerous products.

The publication of the companies’ names was in line with the enforcement on Thursday of revised laws related to the safety of electric appliances, requiring overseas businesses to appoint safety management officials in Japan when selling products directly to Japanese consumers online or through other channels.

Under the revised Consumer Product Safety Law and three other related laws, measures have been strengthened for products including mobile batteries, which have to have a PS label, a mark indicating they meet the nation’s product safety standards.

Accordingly, the names of safety management officials at the business operators will be published on the ministry’s website. The ministry can request online retailers to remove relevant products when the business operators cannot deal with accidents in Japan.

Most of the 36 companies are small businesses. The list will be updated about every three months, and businesses that the ministry can reach will be removed from the list. It will be referred to by the operators of major e-commerce sites such as Amazon and Rakuten Ichiba.

The 36 firms now on the list could not be contacted by the ministry as of Dec. 19