Published 2 Oct 2026 / Consumer Affairs Agency: 24 serious accidents involving recalled products
On 2 October 2026 the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) published 24 serious product accidents reported by businesses under Article 35(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The highlighted case is the recall (collection and exchange) of a cordless, battery-powered pressure washer imported by Sign House Co., Ltd. Under this reporting system, manufacturers and importers must notify the CAA whenever a product is involved in a fire, death or serious injury, and the agency then publishes the cases together. The key point of this release is not a change in the rules: it is that products for which the maker has *already* announced a recall (collection, exchange or free repair) remain in people's homes and are still causing fires. The list names, among recalled items, two electric kettles, an air circulator, cordless earphones with a built-in lithium-ion battery and microphone, decorative LED illumination lights, a bulb-type LED lamp, and the cordless pressure washer. It also covers six chargers with built-in lithium batteries, an electrically power-assisted bicycle, an aluminium-alloy step stool, an air cooler, a cordless desk lamp, a projector, a cordless router, two air conditioners, a straight-tube LED lamp and a hair dryer. Rechargeable, battery-equipped goods dominate the list.
Recall notices in Japan travel mainly through Japanese-language channels: the maker's website, in-store notices and newspaper announcements. If reading Japanese is difficult, you can easily keep using a product without ever learning it is subject to collection or exchange. The pattern in this release — accidents from products already recalled — tends to happen exactly where the information never arrived. Foreign residents often assemble a household of appliances quickly after arrival, from secondhand shops, flea-market apps or friends leaving Japan, frequently without manuals or warranty cards. Without the model number and year of manufacture, you cannot even check whether an item is on a recall list. And if a fire does break out, responsibility under your rental contract and fire-insurance paperwork come into play, so a language barrier turns directly into financial and residency-life risk. Note too that rechargeable items are often left charging overnight while you sleep.
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Source:
Consumer Affairs Agency website (Serious product accidents: fires involving recalled products — cordless pressure washer, 2 October)This article was edited and written by freegent Inc. based on the source above.