Japanese Toy ST 2016

The new toy safety standard ST 2016 contains a large number of mechanical and physical property elements and came into effect on April 1, 2016.
In 1971, the Japan Toy Association (JTA), a public interest entity approved by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, established the Japanese Toy Safety Mark (ST Mark) to ensure the safety of toys for children aged 14 and under. The Toy Safety Mark (ST Mark) is based on three toy safety standards:

• ST Part 1 - Mechanical and Physical Properties
• ST Part 2 - Flammability
• ST Part 3 - Chemical Properties

In 2012, Parts 1 to 3 of ST were combined to create the new toy safety standard ST 2012.
On February 1, 2016, the Japan Toy Association (JTA) released the new toy safety standard ST 2016. The new standard can be purchased from the website of the Japan Toy Association (JTA). The new standard mainly has major revisions to Part 1:

• Clarify that projectile toys do not include self-propelled flying toys such as remote-controlled helicopters and wind-up airplanes.
• Add new definitions of free flight, arrows, and leading edges.
• Add new requirements for specific squeeze toys, rattles, fasteners, and other toys and toy components.
• Give special consideration to the safety of bathroom toys and develop design guidelines.
• Add new requirements for projectile toys, including mouth-operated projectile toys, dart-shaped projectiles, and arrows.
• Add the determination method for suction cup projectile toys, the method for determining the projectile range (the maximum distance that the projectile toy travels in the air from the launch point), the evaluation method for the tip of rigid projectile toys, and the measurement method for the length of suction cup projectiles.

Part 2 of the new standard is the same as the ISO 8124-2:2014 standard, and Part 3 is the same as the ST 2012 standard.
The new toy safety standard ST 2016 will come into effect on April 1, 2016. The current 5th edition of the ST 2012 standard is valid until March 31, 2018. During the transition period, both sets of standards are applicable to the ST certification mark (Table 1).
Table 1
Japanese toy safety standards
Standard              ST 2012 (5th Edition)                ST 2016
Effective date          In effect                           April 1, 2016
(Applicable to ST mark, valid until 31 March 2018)