Accessibility law · Asia-Pacific

Japan JIS X 8341-3:2016 → WCAG 2.0 AA

In Japan, the standard to meet is JIS X 8341-3:2016 → WCAG 2.0 AA. It binds public bodies by government guideline, and every business through a duty of reasonable accommodation since April 2024. This page was reviewed against primary sources on 30 September 2026.

Standard
JIS X 8341-3:2016 → WCAG 2.0 AA
Private sector
Partly
Accessibility statement
Not required
Next deadline
2027
Reviewed
30 September 2026
The 38 criteria All jurisdictions Checklist

Scope

Who it applies to

No Japanese law sets a technical web standard for everyone. Since 1 April 2024 every business must provide reasonable accommodation when a person with a disability asks for it, unless the burden is excessive, and must endeavor to make its services accessible in advance; public bodies have had the same accommodation duty since 2016. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications asks public bodies to meet JIS X 8341-3:2016 (identical to WCAG 2.0) at Level AA and to publish a policy and test results, and the JIS is being revised to match WCAG 2.2.

  • Public sector

    National ministries, incorporated administrative agencies, local governments and local incorporated administrative agencies must provide reasonable accommodation. MIC's 2024 guideline asks national and local public bodies to make their official websites, including smartphone versions, conform to JIS X 8341-3:2016 Level AA, with new sites built to WCAG 2.2 criteria as far as possible.

  • Private sector

    Partly

    Every business, for-profit or not and including sole proprietors, must not discriminate and, since 1 April 2024, must provide reasonable accommodation on request. Making websites accessible in advance is only an effort duty; there is no size threshold and no technical standard for private sites.

Coverage

What it covers

Websites are only part of it. Each tile says whether these rules reach that kind of product, with the detail.

  • Websites

    Partly

    JIS Level AA for public bodies by guideline; accommodation on request for businesses.

  • Mobile apps

    Partly

    No app standard; the accommodation duty applies to services delivered through apps.

  • Documents

    Partly

    Covered only as web content under JIS X 8341-3 for public bodies.

  • Software

    Not covered

    No binding software standard; only the general accommodation duty.

  • Kiosks and terminals

    Not covered

    No binding kiosk standard; only the general accommodation duty.

  • Public procurement

    Partly

    The Basic Plan asks ministries to consider accessibility and follow international standards and JIS when buying ICT.

Timeline

Deadlines

Next: 2027. Expected, not confirmed: revised JIS X 8341-3 aligned with ISO/IEC 40500:2025 (WCAG 2.2).

Dates move, so check the linked source before you plan around one.

  1. 22 Mar 2016 In force

    JIS X 8341-3:2016 published, identical to ISO/IEC 40500:2012 (WCAG 2.0).

    Source

  2. 1 Apr 2016 In force

    Act takes effect: reasonable accommodation mandatory for public bodies, an effort duty for businesses.

    Source

  3. 4 Jun 2021 In force

    Amendment promulgated making reasonable accommodation a legal duty for businesses.

    Source

  4. 25 May 2022 In force

    Act on Promotion of Information Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities promulgated and in force.

    Source

  5. 1 Apr 2024 In force

    Reasonable accommodation becomes mandatory for all businesses.

    Source

  6. Apr 2025 In force

    National consultation desk on disability discrimination (Tsunagu Madoguchi) in full operation.

    Source

  7. 16 Oct 2025 In force

    Digital Agency updates its Web Accessibility Introduction Guidebook.

    Source

  8. 2027 Expected

    Expected, not confirmed: revised JIS X 8341-3 aligned with ISO/IEC 40500:2025 (WCAG 2.2).

    Source

Instruments

The law in Japan

5 laws, rules and rulings, oldest first. Each links to its primary source.

Every fact points at a primary source. Dates move, and several moved in 2025 and 2026, so check the source before you rely on one.

  1. 2013 · am. 2021, in force for businesses Apr 2024 Latest

    障害を理由とする差別の解消の推進に関する法律 (Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities)

    Act No. 65 of 2013, amended by Act No. 56 of 2021 — arts. 5, 7, 8, 12, 26

    Bans unfair discriminatory treatment and requires reasonable accommodation on request, now of public bodies and businesses alike. Advance improvement of the environment, including information accessibility, is an effort duty for both.

    Primary source

  2. 2016

    JIS X 8341-3:2016

    Japanese Industrial Standard — web content

    Identical to ISO/IEC 40500:2012, so it carries exactly the 61 success criteria of WCAG 2.0. A revision to adopt ISO/IEC 40500:2025 (WCAG 2.2) is being drafted.

    Primary source

  3. May 2022

    障害者情報アクセシビリティ・コミュニケーション施策推進法 (Information Accessibility and Communication Promotion Act)

    Act No. 50 of 2022

    Sets national and local government duties to promote access to information for persons with disabilities. Businesses must only endeavor to let people with disabilities obtain and use information and communicate smoothly (art. 5).

    Primary source

  4. 2024

    みんなの公共サイト運用ガイドライン (2024年版)

    Everyone's Public Website Operational Guideline — MIC

    Asks public bodies to conform to JIS X 8341-3:2016 Level AA, publish a web accessibility policy and test results, check and publish progress yearly, and build new sites to WCAG 2.2 criteria as far as possible ahead of the JIS revision.

    Primary source

  5. Feb 2023 · rev. Oct 2025

    ウェブアクセシビリティ導入ガイドブック

    Web Accessibility Introduction Guidebook — Digital Agency

    Practical guidance for officials and businesses starting on web accessibility, using JIS X 8341-3:2016 as the benchmark. Guidance, not a legal requirement.

    Primary source

Enforcement

Enforcement and penalties

  • Who enforces

    The competent minister for each business sector (for private businesses); national and local governments for consultations; MIC for the public-body web guideline.

  • How

    Where particularly necessary, the competent minister may ask a business for a report or give advice, guidance or recommendations (art. 12). National and local governments must handle consultations and help resolve disputes (art. 14), and regional support councils may be set up (art. 17). The national consultation desk "Tsunagu Madoguchi" has operated fully since April 2025.

  • Penalties

    No fine for failing to accommodate. A business that fails to report when asked under art. 12, or reports falsely, faces a non-criminal fine of up to ¥200,000 (art. 26).

  • Individuals

    People can consult local governments or the national Tsunagu Madoguchi desk. The Act itself does not create a right to sue.

Accessibility statement

No statement is required

Not required

No statute requires one. MIC's 2024 guideline asks public bodies to adopt and publish a web accessibility policy before building a site, publish test results showing Level AA conformance, and check and publish their progress once a year by the end of the fiscal year. Private businesses have no such duty.

Exemptions

What is exempt

Exemptions are narrow and usually have to be claimed and explained, not assumed.

  • Reasonable accommodation is not required where the burden is excessive, judged case by case on impact on the business, feasibility, cost, business size and finances.
  • The accommodation duty is triggered when a person with a disability expresses a need to remove a barrier.
  • Accommodation need only be ancillary to the business, aim at equal opportunity, and not change the essence of the service.
  • Improving the environment in advance, which MIC treats as including web accessibility, is only an effort duty (art. 5).

The standard

What WCAG 2.0 Level AA asks for

38 success criteria: 25 at Level A and 13 at Level AA. 4.1.1 Parsing counts in this version, but WCAG 2.2 removed it as obsolete, so it has no page here.

1. Perceivable

2. Operable

3. Understandable

4. Robust

Beyond the law

18 Level A and AA criteria in WCAG 2.2 that these rules do not require yet. Meeting them now costs little and is where the rules are heading.

Meeting it

Where to start

The standard named here is WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

  1. Audit your pages against WCAG 2.0 Level AA: 38 success criteria at Level A and AA.
  2. Check text and control contrast in the Contrast Checker.
  3. Run the URL Analyzer for the problems a machine can find, then test with a keyboard and a screen reader.
  4. If you sell to the public sector, document conformance in an accessibility conformance report, such as a VPAT or an EN 301 549 statement.
  5. Work through the Accessibility Checklist and keep a record of what you tested.

This is a summary to orient you, not legal advice. For a decision that matters, read the primary sources and ask a lawyer who practices there.

Questions

Common questions

  • Does it apply to private companies?

    Yes. Since 1 April 2024 every business, profit-making or not and including sole proprietors, must provide reasonable accommodation when a person with a disability asks, unless the burden is excessive. Making your website accessible in advance is an effort duty, not a hard requirement.

  • Do we have to meet WCAG 2.1 or 2.2?

    Not yet. The reference standard is JIS X 8341-3:2016, which equals WCAG 2.0. MIC asks public bodies to build new sites to WCAG 2.2 criteria as far as possible. A revised JIS matching ISO/IEC 40500:2025 (WCAG 2.2) is being drafted; WAIC expects it in 2027, or 2028 at the latest.

  • What happens if we ignore a request for accommodation?

    The competent minister can ask for a report and give advice, guidance or recommendations. There is no fine for the failure itself, but not reporting or reporting falsely can bring a non-criminal fine of up to ¥200,000.

  • What does a public body have to publish?

    Under MIC's guideline: a web accessibility policy, test results showing JIS X 8341-3:2016 Level AA conformance, and a yearly self-check using MIC's evaluation sheet, published by the end of each fiscal year.

Sources

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these; the few secondary sources are marked. Reviewed 30 September 2026.

Elsewhere

Also in Asia-Pacific

Other regions