Japan bans some magnetic toys and expanding beads
According to announcements by the Japanese government, measures designed to regulate small toys such as magnets and expanding beads will go into effect in June.
The background is that these types of toys are often accidentally swallowed by children.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will revise its regulations accordingly to regulate toys that do not meet the criteria for the ban, such as by their size or degree of magnetism, starting June 19 this year.
In Japan, products that could potentially pose a risk to the life or physical integrity of consumers are defined as "specified products“
by a government decree based on the Consumer Product Safety Law, and any items in this category that do not meet the standards will not be allowed to carry the METI Product Safety (PS) mark and cannot be sold.
The magnetic toy and absorbent beads are added to the 10 products currently covered by this law.
Source: toyworldmag.co.uk