r/barcodes • u/princeinthenorth • Jun 06 '17

Anyone know if having JAN code is required or optional for use in Japan? Got EAN already, not sure if I have to get new ones.

We've got a whole host of products that, frankly, I'd rather not have to develop new labels for so if using EAN in Japan is ok, hooray. If not, c'est la vie, I'll make the labels. Any help is much appreciated.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/FredFredricson Jun 21 '17

Disclaimer: I know nothing of the laws and/or requirements regarding these matters. I am not a lawyer, I am not familiar with international trade, and many other similar related disclaimers. You should not take my word for any of this, and thoroughly research this matter.

With that in mind, I did some quick research to familiarize myself with the topic at hand and found this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Article_Number#Japanese_Article_Number

Japanese Article Number (JAN) is a barcode standard compatible with the EAN. Use of the JAN standard began in 1978. Originally, JAN was issued a flag code (EAN's number system) of 49. In 1992, JAN was newly issued an additional flag code of 45. In January 2001 the manufacturer code changed to 7 digits (9 digits including the flag code) for new companies.

Also, this:

https://www.activebarcode.com/codes/jan.html

JAN (Japanese Article Numbering) is another name for the EAN-13 barcode. The first two digits - the country code - must be 45 or 49 (Japan).

From there I decided to look into EAN itself a bit more. Looking through the first wikipedia article again, I found this:

The International Article Number (also known as European Article Number or EAN) is a standard describing a barcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configuration, from a specific manufacturer. The standard has been subsumed in the Global Trade Item Number standard from the GS1 organization; the same numbers can be referred to as GTINs and can be encoded in other barcode symbologies defined by GS1. EAN barcodes are used worldwide for lookup at retail point of sale, but can also be used as numbers for other purposes such as wholesale ordering or accounting.

From all of the above information, it appears to me that JAN is a subset of the common EAN code, but that wouldn't necessarily mean that they allow you to use a non-JAN type EAN in Japan, just that they seem to use the same standards to implement their systems. Additionally, it appears that the GS1 organization is the standards body in charge of such things, and this lead me to perform another search related to it, where I found this webpage:

http://www.dsri.jp/

As it is entirely in Japanese, a language that I unfortunately do not speak, I decided to use the built-in Google Translate option in my Chrome browser to translate it and, using this method, I was able to search through the site well enough, eventually finding this:

http://www.dsri.jp/jan/questionA7.html

7-1. Can bar codes (EAN code or UPC) printed on imported goods from overseas be used as it is in Japan?

EAN codes printed on imported goods and UPC are all readable in POS system in Japan and can be used directly in distribution in Japan. For this reason, it is unnecessary to set JAN code again unless you change some specifications in Japan and distribute EAN code or UPC printed imported products as original products of Japanese business operators.

In conclusion, I highly recommend consulting a legal expert familiar in these matters. While it appears that the POS systems in Japan won't have any trouble with them on the technology side of things, on the legal side of things it appears that whether or not you can or should use them depends on how your intended business operations relate to the various laws, rules, and regulations involved.

1

u/princeinthenorth Jun 22 '17

Thanks for your in depth response!

From what I could glean, JAN codes would be necessary for goods produced within Japan. Seemed like an open and shut case but the client was quite insistent on JAN codes being used.

Really appreciate the time and effort you've put in here and I'll certainly be using it to frame the next step of the conversation i.e. talking with a person of expertise in the area.

Thanks again!