LED lighting has a lack of standards in Japan

The Japanese government and the industry are actively promoting the popularity of LED lighting. At present, LED lighting in Japan is not the target of PSE, and it is mainly confirmed by enterprise independent certification. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering the inclusion of LED lighting in the PSE.

Among LED lighting products, the supply of bulb-type LED lamps (LED bulbs) in Japan has only a very small amount as of 2008, but the statistics of the Japan Bulb Industry Association show that it has grown rapidly to about 4 million in 2009. . The supply of LED lighting fixtures reached 1.27 million units in December 2009 and has been recognized as an alternative to incandescent bulbs among the average consumer.

Various industries and enterprises in Japan have used TV advertising and other means to actively promote the advantages of LED lighting products in terms of environmental protection and energy saving than existing lighting. From April 2010, the Japanese government has also implemented the “Green Appliances Environmental Protection Points Promotion Promotion Business”, which uses LEDs to purchase LED bulbs at half price. For ordinary consumers, LED lighting products based on LED bulbs have begun to become life. Part 1).

Note 1) In addition to the promotion of business for the general consumer, the Japanese government has also implemented measures to promote the establishment of a low-carbon industry in the country. Support the environmentally-friendly and energy-saving industries such as lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and LED lighting with the most advanced technology and expected future growth, and try to create green jobs.

Electrical Appliances Safety Law (PSE) is not applicable

However, the more LED lighting products enter people's lives, the more prominent a problem. This is the electrical appliance safety law that does not apply to LED lighting. In addition, in the context of the continuous emergence of new companies involved in the field of LED lighting, there has also been a phenomenon of directly selling LED lighting products without knowledge of the electrical appliance safety law. These companies should understand that even if LED lighting is not the object of the Electrical Appliances Safety Law, when a major product accident occurs during the use of the consumer, the company will still be subject to the Consumer Goods Safety Act and the Manufacturing Liability Act (PL Act) in Japan. Investigate.

The LED light bulbs that are currently being popularized and gradually entering the ordinary family life, and the fluorescent lamp type LEDs introduced by public institutions, factories, and convenience stores are not applicable to the electrical appliance safety law. Therefore, LED bulbs and fluorescent LEDs have no legal requirements for the safety of use, but are guaranteed by the companies that sell the products. As a result, the existing lighting fixtures used by ordinary households and enterprises have printed the "PSE mark" indicating that the requirements of the Electrical Appliances Safety Law have been met, and the LED bulbs that are being sold everywhere in the home appliance store are not printed with the PSE mark.

Figure 1: LED bulb marked with the S certification mark

Since the safety is confirmed, the LED bulbs that have passed the conformity inspection at the Institute of Electrical Safety and Environment are marked with the S-JET certification mark.

Replaced by S-mark safety certification

The Electrical Appliances Safety Act originally referred to the law defining the safety assurance of electrical appliances. The purpose of the law is to prevent private companies from carrying out activities related to the safety of electrical appliances while controlling the manufacture and sale of electrical appliances, thereby preventing the danger and damage of electrical appliances.

However, since the Electrical Appliances Safety Law does not apply to LED lighting products, the current problem is not “no”, but “cannot bring” the PSE mark. Therefore, the LED light bulbs sold by Panasonic, Toshiba Lighting Technology, and Sharp, etc., are printed on the safety certification system of private third-party organizations such as the Japan Electric Safety Environment Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as JET). Logo certification" (Figure 1).