Minamata Convention Annex A Amendment Changes Mercury Product Phase-out Deadlines

In the Official Gazette dated September 29, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the government promulgated an amendment to Annex A of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Notified as Ministry of Foreign Affairs Notice No. 296 in the name of Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, this amendment revises the deadlines (phase-out dates) by which the manufacture, import, and export of mercury-added products, such as fluorescent lamps, batteries, and cosmetics, will no longer be permitted. The amendment will enter into force on March 23, 2027 (Reiwa 9).

The Convention was adopted in Kumamoto on October 10, 2013 (Heisei 25). This amendment was carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 27(3) and (4) of the Convention and is based on the contents notified in a letter from the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme dated March 27, 2026 (Reiwa 8). The notice completely revises the tables in Part I (products subject to the provisions of Article 4(1)) and Part II (products subject to the provisions of Article 4(3)) of Annex A; Part I specifies the “deadline by which manufacture, import, or export will no longer be permitted (phase-out date)” for each product.

Deadlines for Fluorescent Lamps: 2026–2027 by Item

• For linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) for general lighting: those using tri-phosphor phosphors with a mercury content not exceeding 5 mg per bulb and under 60 watts, those using tri-phosphor phosphors not exceeding 5 mg and 60 watts or more, and those using tri-phosphor phosphors exceeding 5 mg and 60 watts or more are 2027.
• Those using halophosphate phosphors with a mercury content not exceeding 10 mg and 40 watts or less, and those using halophosphate phosphors exceeding 40 watts are 2026.
• For non-linear fluorescent lamps (NFLs) (U-shaped, circular, etc.): those using tri-phosphor phosphors are 2027, and those using halophosphate phosphors are 2026.
• Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) for general lighting exceeding 30 watts, and non-integrated ballast compact fluorescent lamps (CFL-ni) of 30 watts or less with a mercury content not exceeding 5 mg are 2026.

Deadlines for Batteries, Cosmetics, and Measuring Instruments

• Batteries (excluding button-cell zinc-silver oxide batteries and button-cell zinc-air batteries with a mercury content of less than two percent) are 2020, and the same button-cell batteries are 2025.
• Cosmetics (those with a mercury content exceeding one part per million by mass, including skin-whitening soaps and creams) are 2020, and categories excluding exceptions where mercury is used as a preservative are 2025. It is noted that cosmetics, soaps, or creams containing trace amounts of mercury are not intended to be covered.
• Switches and relays are 2020, and high-frequency radio-frequency switches and relays (those of 20 milligrams or less) used in bridges for measuring capacitance and loss with extremely high accuracy, as well as in devices for monitoring and control, are 2025.
• Pesticides, biocides, and local disinfectants are 2020.
• Non-electrical measuring instruments (barometers, hygrometers, manometers, thermometers, sphygmomanometers) are 2020, and strain gauges used in plethysmographs are 2025.
• Electrical and electronic measuring instruments (melt pressure converters, melt pressure transmitters, and melt pressure sensors) are 2025.
• Mercury vacuum pumps, tire balancers and wheel weights, photographic film and paper, and propellants used in satellites and spacecraft are all 2025.

Dental Amalgam is 2034, Reduction Measures Also Specified

The deadline for dental amalgam (except where a dental practitioner deems its use necessary based on the patient’s needs) was set as 2034. Part II lists measures for Parties to gradually reduce the use of dental amalgam, including the setting of national goals for caries prevention and health promotion, promoting the use of mercury-free alternative products, promoting research and development of high-quality materials, the restriction or encouragement of insurance policies and systems that favor mercury-free dental treatment, and limiting use to dental amalgam capsules.

Furthermore, for the dental treatment of primary teeth, patients under the age of fifteen, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, measures are required to exclude, not permit, or recommend against the use of dental amalgam. Parties that have not completed the phase-out are required to submit reports to the Secretariat every four years based on national action plans or available information regarding their progress.

This amendment directly affects businesses that manufacture, import, or export fluorescent lamps, batteries, cosmetics, measuring instruments, dental materials, and other related products. Since the manufacture, import, and export of products that have passed their deadlines will no longer be permitted, businesses must verify the deadlines for each item and accelerate the transition to alternative products.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Notification No. 296 (dated September 29, 2026, Official Gazette No. 1797). Amendment to Annex A of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (Letter from the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme dated March 27, 2026).