Japan METI Guide for Energy Efficiency 

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is responsible for designing the energy conservation policies of the economy. Within METI, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) is in charge of securing stable supply of energy, promoting efficient energy use, and regulating electricity and other energy industries. 

The Japanese Energy Conservation Law ("Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy") has established the “Top Runner Program” (the Program) is a requirement imposed on manufacturers of machinery, equipment, and other items. This is Japan’s main program to improve energy efficiency of energy-consuming products, which encourages competition among companies by setting the efficiency targets for the next 3 to 10 years. The Program is mandatory for companies (manufacturers and importers of specified products), to fulfill the efficiency targets by the targeted years. Manufacturers are required to achieve such targets (by a weighted average method) for all of their products per category for each predetermined target year. 

This Program initially covered 11 items in 1998, and expanded to 31 items. In the future, the Top Runner standards will be reviewed for further expansion of the number of product items. Now the target products are: passenger vehicles, freight vehicles, air conditioners, electric refrigerators, electric freezers, electric rice cookers, microwave ovens, lighting equipment, electric toilet seats, TV sets, video cassette recorders, DVD recorders, computers, magnetic disk units, copying machines, space heaters, gas cooking appliances, gas water heaters, oil water heaters, vending machines, transformers, routers, switching units, AC motors, LED lamps, sashes(window), multi-paned glazings, multi-function devices, printers, electric water heaters (heat pump) and insulation materials.

Labelling requirements:

According to the Energy Conservation Law, energy efficiency labeling of designated products is mandatory. The label has to contain the product name, model, energy consumption efficiency ratio, and power/fuel consumption.

In this case the label does not require presentation of energy consumption performance parameters for product as a relative comparison with other products but an achievement rate in relation to the Top Runner target. The labels affixed to the products indicate the achievement ratio of the energy efficiency and conservation standards. The label includes an expected electricity bill and a 5-star rating to represent the relative position of a product in the market with respect to energy-saving performance.

There two types of label: 

• The Energy Saving Label is a labelling program for manufactures to indicate energy-saving performance under the “Top Runner Program”. This label is displayed in the brochure or product itself. 

This program is covering 21 categories of products: air conditioners, lighting equipment for fluorescent lamp(s), TV sets, electric refrigerators, electric freezers, space heaters, gas cooking appliances, gas water heaters, oil water heaters, electric toilet seats, computers, magnetic disk units, transformers later followed, microwave ovens, electric rice cookers, DVD routers and switching units, electric water heaters, self-ballasted LED lamps, AC motors.

• The Uniform Energy Saving Label, another labelling program that applies to retailers, is a multistage rating scheme of energy-saving performance based on an achievement ratio under the Top Runner Program. This Program is covering six categories of products (air conditioners, TVs, electric refrigerators, electric freezers, electric toilet seats, and lighting equipment for fluorescent lamps). The Simplified Uniform Energy Saving Label is displayed for other 10 products that are not covered by the Uniform Energy Saving Label.

Example of the Energy Saving Label:

Example of the Uniform Energy Saving Label:

As part of the market approval for Japan, manufacturers of office equipment can also comply with the International Energy Star Program (ENERGY STAR). This is the international energy saving system for office equipment, such as computers, displays, printers, facsimiles, copiers, scanners, MFPs, digital printers, computer servers.

The International Energy Star Program in Japan has been working since October 1995 under an agreement between the two governments.  This program is a voluntary registration system.

Example of Energy Star label:

please contact us in time and we will delete it immediately.

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