Reviewing Product Safety Regulation in Australia - and Japan?

Abstract

This article, in two Parts, compares regimes regulating the safety of general consumer goods in Australia and Japan, major trading partners which each have experienced major product recalls and other product safety issues in recent years. The article locates the analysis in the context of the Australian government's ongoing review of product safety legislation, and potential reforms in Japan, and both countries' interest in concluding a bilateral free trade agreement, possibly involving a business law harmonisation agenda. It urges convergence on reforms modelled on the revised European Union regime, as the emerging global standard best reconciling the interests of consumers, business, regulators and other stakeholders in consumer product safety.

Keywords: product safety, Japan, Japanese law, Australia, Australian law

JEL Classification: K13, K23, K32, K42