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In Japan, there are several dozen bodies operating certification/registration programs. The current number of Certification/Registration Bodies that are accredited by JAB is shown at the top page of this website.
The Certification/Registration Scheme for Quality Management Systems based on the international QMS standard ISO 9001: 2000, or Environmental Management Systems based on the international EMS standard ISO 14001, are voluntary schemes. There is no requirement to obtain a license to establish a Certification/Registration Body, and there is no penalty, even if the body is found not to be in conformity with ISO/IEC Guide 62 or ISO/IEC Guide 66 (shortly to become ISO/IEC 17021).
In order, however, to assure users (companies and organizations) that the Certification/Registration Body is undertaking audits against ISO 9001: 2000 or ISO 14001 using procedures equivalent to those used by similar bodies all around the world applying the standards in the same way and maintaining a certain level of integrity, each country has an "Accreditation Body". Accreditation Bodies are responsible for assessing the competence of Certification/Registration Bodies against the international standards ISO/IEC Guide 62 (for QMS certifiers) or ISO/IEC Guide 66 (for EMS certifiers). These standards are currently being revised and will be re-issued this year as a combined international conformity assessment standard, ISO/IEC 17021. Certification/Registration Bodies active in Japan are not necessarily obliged to obtain accreditation from JAB, but in order for them to be recognized as competent, most of them are accredited either by JAB or by an overseas Accreditation Body.
As explained above, the criteria used by an Accreditation Body to grant accreditation are ISO/IEC Guide 62 (JIS Z 9362) for Quality Management System Certification/Registration Bodies, and ISO/IEC Guide 66 (JIS Q 0066) for Environmental Management System Certification/Registration Bodies. These standards have been adopted internationally as the criteria for accreditation of QMS and EMS Certification Bodies, as will be the forthcoming replacement standard, ISO/IEC 17021. In addition, guidance documents published by the International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) for Guides 62 and 66 have been adopted as guidelines by JAB and are used for its accreditation assessments.
When applying for accreditation, a Certification/Registration Body must first satisfy these criteria and proceed with application procedures for accreditation. For more information, please see "Certification/Registration Body's Procedures from Application for Accreditation to Accreditation Registration (JABR210-1999) (PDF file 78 KByte)".
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