Lift and Elevator Codes and Standards in Japan

Lifts, escalators and small cargo lifts in buildings are building equipment under the Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950; Art. 34: lifts must be of safe construction, and buildings over 31 m need an emergency lift), administered by MLIT and enforced by local specified administrative agencies (特定行政庁). Technical requirements are in Enforcement Order Arts. 129-3 to 129-13-3 (elevators, escalators, small cargo lifts, emergency lifts) and in MLIT notifications (告示); since 28 Sep 2009 new elevators must have door-open travel protection (Art. 129-10(3)(i), requiring performance evaluation and ministerial certification) and an earthquake emergency operation device (Art. 129-10(3)(ii)), and since 2013 escalators must meet anti-fall-off rules (Art. 129-12(1)(vi), Notification No. 1046). Lifts are equipment requiring building confirmation under Art. 87-4. In service, owners must have lifts periodically inspected by a 1st/2nd-class architect or a holder of the lift inspector certificate (昇降機等検査員) and report to the specified administrative agency (Act Art. 12(3)); the reporting interval is set by the agency within roughly 6 months to 1 year (Enforcement Regulations Art. 6), in practice yearly.

Who regulates lifts

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT, 国土交通省) Housing Bureau; enforcement by local specified administrative agencies (特定行政庁)

Periodic inspection

Building Standards Act Art. 12(3) + Enforcement Order Art. 16(3)(i) (all Art. 129-3 lifts, except low-use ones designated by MLIT; lifts in state-owned buildings handled under Art. 12(4)): owner has the lift inspected by a 昇降機等検査員 certificate holder or 1st/2nd-class architect and reports to the specified administrative agency at intervals the agency sets within about 6 months to 1 year (Enforcement Regulations Art. 6); local agencies state a yearly report (e.g. Chiba Prefecture's agencies: '年1回'). Items, methods and pass criteria: MLIT Notification No. 283 of 2008 (rope and hydraulic elevators, platform lifts, stair lifts, escalators, small cargo lifts).

Installer and maintenance licensing

Inspectors need the national lift inspector certificate (昇降機等検査員資格者証, Enforcement Regulations Art. 6-5) or a 1st/2nd-class architect licence. No licensing scheme for lift installation or maintenance companies was found under the Building Standards Act.

Laws, codes and standards

• Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950), Art. 12(3) — Building Standard Act — periodic inspection and reporting of lifts
  Mandatory · Statute · National Diet / MLIT
• Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950), Arts. 12(3), 34, 87-4 — Building Standard Act — lifts: safe construction and emergency lifts (Art. 34), confirmation for lift installations (Art. 87-4), periodic inspection and reporting (Art. 12(3))
  Mandatory · Statute (昭和二十五年法律第二百一号) · National Diet; administered by MLIT
• Building Standards Act Enforcement Order, Art. 129 series (lifts) — Order for Enforcement of the Building Standard Act — lift and escalator technical requirements
  Mandatory · Cabinet order under the Building Standards Act · Cabinet / MLIT
• Building Standards Act Enforcement Order, Arts. 129-3 to 129-13-3 — Order for Enforcement of the Building Standard Act — Section on lifts: scope (129-3), elevator structure, loads, car, hoistway, drive and controller, machine room, safety devices (129-4 to 129-11), escalators (129-12), small cargo lifts (129-13), emergency lifts (129-13-2, 129-13-3)
  Mandatory · Cabinet Order No. 338 of 1950 under the Building Standards Act · Cabinet / MLIT
• Building Standards Act Enforcement Regulations, Arts. 6, 6-5, 6-6 — Ordinance for Enforcement of the Building Standard Act — periodic reporting interval for building equipment incl. lifts; inspector certificate types
  Mandatory · MLIT ordinance (昭和二十五年建設省令第四十号) under Act Art. 12 · MLIT
• MLIT Notification No. 1046 of 2013 (平成25年国土交通省告示第1046号) — Construction methods preventing escalators from falling off in earthquakes
  Mandatory · Enforcement Order Art. 129-12(1)(vi) · MLIT
• MLIT Notification No. 1536 of 2008 (平成20年国土交通省告示第1536号) — Seismic acceleration thresholds and construction of the earthquake emergency operation device (stop car at a landing and open doors)
  Mandatory · Enforcement Order Art. 129-10(3)(ii) and (4) · MLIT
• MLIT Notification No. 283 of 2008 (平成20年国土交通省告示第283号) — Items, methods, pass criteria and result forms for periodic inspection of lifts
  Mandatory · Building Standards Act Enforcement Regulations Art. 6 et seq. · MLIT
• MLIT Notification No. 703 of 2009 (平成21年国土交通省告示第703号) — Methods to prevent elevator drive units and controllers from overturning or moving in earthquakes
  Mandatory · Enforcement Order Art. 129-8(1) · MLIT
• Notification No. 1413 of 2000 (平成12年建設省告示第1413号) — Construction methods for elevators and escalators of special construction or use
  Mandatory · Enforcement Order Art. 129-3(2) · Ministry of Construction / MLIT
• Notification No. 1423 of 2000 (平成12年建設省告示第1423号) — Construction of elevator braking devices (safety gear, governor, buffers, limit switches)
  Mandatory · Enforcement Order Art. 129-10(2) · Ministry of Construction / MLIT
• JEAS — Japan Elevator Association standards (industry standards series)
  Voluntary · Japan Elevator Association
• JIS A 4301 — Size of car and hoistway of elevators
  Referenced by law · Notification No. 112 of 1971 (昭和46年建設省告示第112号) designates part of JIS A 4301 (1970 revision, type E-17-CO) for emergency-elevator car/door size and rated load · JISC / JSA
• JIS A 4302 (2006) — Inspection standard for lifts (elevators incl. platform and stair lifts, escalators incl. moving walks, small cargo lifts)
  Voluntary · JISC (Minister: MLIT); draft by BEEC; published by JSA
• JIS A 4304 — Overspeed governors for elevators
  Voluntary · JSA (publisher)
• JIS A 4305 (2016) — Safety gear for elevators
  Voluntary · JISC (Minister: MLIT); draft by Japan Elevator Association and JSA
• JIS A 4306 — Buffers for elevators
  Voluntary · JSA (publisher)
• JIS A 4307-1 (2019) — Safety requirements for rope-type elevators — Part 1: Construction and equipment
  Voluntary · JISC (Minister: MLIT); draft by Japan Elevator Association and JSA
• JIS A 4307-2 (2019) — Safety requirements for rope-type elevators — Part 2: Inspection and testing
  Voluntary · JISC (Minister: MLIT); draft by Japan Elevator Association and JSA
• Door-open travel protection: performance evaluation + ministerial certification (Enforcement Order Art. 129-10(3)(i), (4)) — Unintended car movement / door-open travel protection device (戸開走行保護装置) — mandatory since 28 Sep 2009
  Mandatory · Enforcement Order Art. 129-10(3)(i) as amended by Cabinet Order No. 290 of 2008; device needs evaluation by a designated performance-evaluation body (BEEC, Building Center of Japan, Center for Better Living) and MLIT certification · MLIT
• MLIT Guideline on appropriate maintenance of lifts (2016, revised 2024) + standard elevator maintenance contract — Guideline for appropriate maintenance and management of lifts and standard maintenance/inspection contract for elevators
  Voluntary · MLIT
• Periodic Inspection Work Standard for Lifts and Amusement Rides (2016 edition, 2021 supplement) (2016) — Standard manual for periodic inspection of lifts and amusement rides
  Voluntary · Commentary on MLIT Notification No. 283 · Japan Building Equipment and Elevator Center (BEEC)
• Periodic Inspection Work Standard for Lifts and Amusement Rides (2016 edition) (2016) — Standard manual for periodic inspection of lifts and amusement rides
  Voluntary · Japan Elevator Association / industry

Lift associations and bodies

• Japan Elevator Association (JEA)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)
• Japan Building Equipment and Elevator Center Foundation (BEEC)
• Building Performance Standardization Association

Last verified 2026-10-17. Standards are copyrighted: we list which one applies and its legal status, not its text.

Related

• Lift codes by country
• EN 81-20 and EN 81-50
• Elevator modernization guide