GM, COT❣️ Yuzunoko here.
Have you picked out your coloured contacts for Halloween yet?
Halloween in 2026 falls on October 31. Many people are probably getting their costumes ready, but there is one thing worth knowing first. Coloured contact lenses are classed as "specially controlled medical devices" under Japanese law even when they carry no prescription strength. Sellers need a licence from their prefectural government, and buyers are urged to see an eye doctor.
(Your eyes are the one thing you cannot replace afterwards.)
Even With Zero Power, Coloured Contacts Are "Medical Devices"
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's page says that from November 4, 2009, coloured contact lenses not intended to correct eyesight have been regulated as specially controlled medical devices under the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act, in the same way as corrective lenses.
Even with zero power, anything you put in your eye is treated the same. Manufacture and import need approval from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. Sale needs a licence from the prefectural governor, and a sales manager must be appointed.
A Consumer Affairs Agency warning notes that contact lens users in Japan are said to number 15 to 18 million, and that coloured lenses have become established as one kind of fashion item.
Sellers Need a Prefectural Licence
(I have heard of people buying them cheaply on flea-market apps.)
The rules for sellers are set out in detail in an MHLW notification dated September 26, 2017 (Yakuseihatsu 0926 No. 5). When selling, a retailer must check whether the buyer has seen a doctor, and must sell according to a physician's instructions. If the buyer has not, the retailer must explain the risk of severe eye disorders and urge them to go.
The notification says this applies whether the sale is face-to-face or not. Online shops are no exception.
Stores and websites are also required to display three things.
- The licence number, date of issue and validity period for the specially controlled medical device sales business
- The name and address of the business location
- The sales manager's name and contact details, such as telephone numbers for consultations and emergencies
Just checking whether these are shown before you buy tells you a lot.
The notification also has a blunt line. Sales practices that mislead buyers into thinking a medical visit is unnecessary, such as advertising "no prescription needed" or "no examination needed", are inappropriate. Put the other way round, a shop that advertises this way is stepping outside the rules.
Osaka City's page says that selling contact lenses without a specially controlled medical device sales licence is illegal. When an individual sells on a flea-market app, that is also "selling", but where the line falls for selling "as a business" is not something this article decides. The MHLW says that selling or giving away personally imported medical devices may violate the law.
Mail Order and Personal Import Are Not the Same Thing
Buying online splits into two routes. One is mail order from a domestic seller. The other is a personal import, where you order from overseas yourself.
The Consumer Affairs Agency warns about personal imports by name. Items bought from overseas over the internet have not been checked for quality, efficacy or safety under the Act. The packaging is made for another market, so reaching the manufacturer if something goes wrong is hard, and there is no guarantee if your health is damaged.
The MHLW's personal-import page makes the same points: quality and safety are not checked, the labelling is in a foreign language and hard to read accurately, and damage from personally imported medicines is not covered by the relief system that applies to medicines sold in Japan.
Osaka City advises checking the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions disclosures carefully when buying overseas products online, to see whether the service is a personal-import agent or ordinary mail order. Two sites can look like the same sort of shop and still be different underneath.
Where Eye Trouble Happens
An article on Government Public Relations Online (updated July 9, 2026) gathers the records sent to the National Consumer Affairs Center's "Doctor Mailbox" for accident reports from physicians. There were 104 in the roughly eight years from August 2014 to December 2022. Most were mild, but some were described as conditions that could have led to blindness if one step had gone wrong.
Users in their 20s and 30s were the largest groups. Online shops were where more than half of the lenses had been bought (out of 90 cases examined). By lens type, coloured contact lenses accounted for nearly 70 per cent (out of 94 cases examined).
The MHLW notification says the same thing: eye disorders have been reported more often among people who bought online or by mail order.
Three Things to Check Before You Buy
Here is all of that reduced to three places to look before you buy.
First, have you seen an eye doctor? The Consumer Affairs Agency asks people to see an ophthalmologist first, even for coloured lenses, to be prescribed lenses that suit them and to have the frequency of regular checkups decided.
Second, the seller's disclosures: the licence number, the business name and address, and the manager's contact details. Are all three visible in the shop or on the site?
Third, the route. Domestic mail order, or a personal import from overseas? A personal import is a purchase made at your own risk, with no check on quality or safety.
(Three things, and the second is probably the one people skip.)
When You Put Them In
The handling advice from Government Public Relations Online is short. Cut your nails round. Wash your hands with soap before touching a lens. Put makeup on after the lenses are in. Never lick a lens. Check for damage or dirt before inserting. Keep to the replacement period for disposable lenses.
Osaka City adds that because coloured lenses are tinted, less oxygen reaches the eye and the cornea is scratched more easily, so they need more care than clear lenses.
If something feels wrong, take them out and go to an eye clinic. The Consumer Affairs Agency and the MHLW say the same thing.
Halloween is October 31, and the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival 2026 runs from October 30 to November 1. Try not to wear a new pair for the first time on the day itself; a short trial at home before then is safer. The event rules are collected in Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival 2026 runs for three days from October 30: night tickets, the parade and the participation rules.
About This Article
This article is based on the MHLW's page on coloured contact lenses for fashion use and its 2017 notification, the Consumer Affairs Agency's warning, the article on Government Public Relations Online, the MHLW's personal-import page and Osaka City's page. It does not judge whether a particular product or shop complies with the rules, and it does not judge eye symptoms. If anything worries you, please ask an eye doctor.
Sources: Coloured contact lenses for fashion use (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), Thorough provision of information on the proper use of contact lenses (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, September 26, 2017), Eye disorders caused by contact lenses (Consumer Affairs Agency), Beware of eye trouble from contact lenses (Government Public Relations Online), Buying medicines and medical devices from overseas (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), Proper use of contact lenses (Osaka City)
See you in the next COT❣️