Is aromatherapy regulated? The laws that matter in Japan

Japan has no law that mentions aromatherapy by name. You do not need a licence to buy essential oils, to use them at home, or to call yourself an aromatherapist. Many guides stop there. The fuller answer is that three existing laws shape what can be done for money with oils and hands, and what can be said about a bottle on a shop shelf.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws and official interpretations change, and how a rule applies depends on exactly what you do. If you are planning a business, check with your prefecture or the relevant professional association, or speak to a lawyer.

The three laws at a glance

Massage: the Act on Practitioners of Massage, Finger Pressure, Acupuncture and Moxibustion

This 1947 law is often called the ahaki law in Japanese, from the first sounds of anma (massage), hari (acupuncture) and kyu (moxibustion). Its first article says that anyone other than a physician who wants to practise anma, massage, shiatsu, acupuncture or moxibustion as a business must hold the matching national licence. Getting one takes at least three years at an approved school, followed by a national exam.

"As a business" is the important phrase. Rubbing a friend's shoulders or massaging your own child's feet is not a business. Offering body massage to the public, repeatedly, for a fee, is.

This is where many aromatherapy treatments sit uncomfortably. A full-body oil treatment is, physically, a form of massage. Salons often describe their services as "treatments", "body care" or "relaxation" instead. As a general principle, whether something counts as massage under the law depends on what is actually done and why, not on the name on the menu. In practice the boundary between light, oil-based relaxation work and licensed massage has never been sharply drawn, and enforcement has been uneven. That uncertainty is a risk for the practitioner, not a permission.

Article 12 of the same law adds a broader ban on iryo ruiji koi, practices resembling medical care, by anyone outside the licensed professions. Japan's Supreme Court ruled in 1960 that this ban applies to practices that could harm health. How that applies to any particular treatment is a matter for the authorities and, in the end, the courts. Judo therapists, who treat sprains and similar injuries, are covered by a separate law of their own.

If giving massage is the heart of the work you want to do in Japan, the clear route is a national licence. Licensed practitioners can and do use essential oils within treatments they are already allowed to give.

Diagnosis and treatment: the Medical Practitioners Act

Article 17 of the Medical Practitioners Act says that no one other than a physician may practise medicine. Medical practice includes diagnosing illness and treating it. Nurses and midwives work under their own law, and in hospitals they generally use aromatherapy within nursing care and the ward's policies.

Aromatherapy drifts towards medical practice when someone without a medical licence:

• tells a client what condition they have;
• prepares a blend aimed at treating a named disease, such as eczema, hay fever or depression;
• advises a client to change, cut down or stop a prescribed medicine.

The safer habit is to talk about scent, comfort and relaxation, and to send anyone with symptoms to a doctor.

Products and claims: the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act

This law was called the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law until 2014, when it was renamed and widened. Its full title is long, so most people shorten it to the PMD Act. It covers medicines, quasi-drugs (iyakubu-gaihin, products approved for specific mild effects, such as some medicated bath salts), cosmetics (keshohin) and medical devices.

Most essential oils in Japan are sold as general goods, often called zakka (sundries). As general goods they may not be advertised as having effects on health or the body. Phrases such as "relieves headaches", "improves sleep", "strengthens immunity" or "balances hormones" make a product look like an unapproved medicine. A seller can describe the scent, the plant, the origin and how to use it for fragrance.

Cosmetics follow their own rules. A body oil or cream sold as a cosmetic needs licences to manufacture and to place on the market, must list its ingredients, and may only make claims from a fixed list of permitted wording, such as keeping skin moist or protecting it from dryness. If you plan to sell your own blends, ask your prefecture's pharmaceutical affairs section first.

The advertising rules apply to anyone, not only manufacturers: shops, salons, teachers and individuals writing online. Since 2021, regulators have also been able to impose a financial penalty linked to sales for false or exaggerated advertising. A separate consumer law, the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, covers misleading claims more broadly.

How the UK and US compare

Rules abroad do not change what applies in Japan, but the comparison helps explain why overseas training materials can be confusing here.

In the UK there is no state licence for aromatherapists, and anyone can use the title. Voluntary registers exist, including one accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, and professional bodies set training standards and expect members to carry insurance. Massage is not licensed nationally either, although some local councils, London's among them, license premises offering massage and similar treatments. On the product side, claims to treat or prevent disease turn a product into a medicine, which needs a licence, and the Advertising Standards Authority acts against unsupported health claims in adverts.

In the US there is no federal or state licence for aromatherapy itself, but most states license massage therapists, so aromatherapy massage normally falls under massage rules. The Food and Drug Administration decides by intended use: a product sold to treat or prevent disease, or to affect the body's structure or function, is a drug; one sold to cleanse or beautify is a cosmetic; a room scent may simply be a consumer product. The Federal Trade Commission polices advertising. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the two agencies sent warning letters to sellers who claimed essential oils could prevent or treat the virus.

Who to ask

For questions about massage or medical practice, contact your prefecture's health department or the local public health centre (hokenjo). For product labels and advertising, ask the prefecture's pharmaceutical affairs section; Japan's health ministry, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, publishes the underlying laws and guidance. For contracts and disputes, speak to a lawyer, and for consumer problems, dial the national consumer hotline, 188. Associations of licensed massage and acupuncture practitioners can explain how the licensing rules work in practice.

If you are thinking about aromatherapy as a career, the page on working in aromatherapy looks at training and jobs, and finding aromatherapy care covers the same questions from the client's side.

Behind all three laws sits one plain idea: someone who is unwell should be seen by a person trained and licensed to find out why. If a client mentions chest pain, a new lump, unexplained weight loss, numbness or a rash that keeps spreading, the right response from any aromatherapist is to stop and suggest they see a doctor. And if you are the client, no oil, massage or salon is a reason to put off seeing a doctor, or to change a medicine without first talking to the doctor or pharmacist who prescribed it.