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Is Japanese Halal Certification Recognized in Malaysia and Indonesia? Checking Those Countries’ Official Lists

Published: September 20, 2026 / Last updated: October 24, 2026

Category: For businesses

How to check claims of mutual recognition

Japanese halal certification bodies’ websites usually say they have mutual recognition with Malaysia’s JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) or BPJPH (Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency). They often display overseas agencies’ logos too.

But these are the bodies’ own statements. In the examples we examined, none also showed the recognizing side’s documents.

The recognizing countries publish lists of the overseas bodies they accept: JAKIM for Malaysia and BPJPH for Indonesia. By comparing Japanese bodies’ statements with those lists, you can check for yourself, at least for these two countries.

We chose these countries because most of their people are Muslim and many visit Japan. According to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan received 640,600 visitors from Indonesia and 636,600 from Malaysia in 2025. Both increased by more than 20% from the previous year.

This article reports what we found as of September 20, 2026. This website does not decide which body’s certification is better. For deciding whether to obtain certification and the costs involved, see How Much Does Halal Certification Cost? A Breakdown, and Ways to Serve Muslim Customers Without It. Here, we focus on how certification obtained in Japan is treated in the other country.

The Malaysian and Indonesian lists

Check the other country’s official list

Malaysia’s list is a PDF published by the JAKIM Halal Management Division. Its cover says it is effective from August 21, 2026 and was gazetted under the 2011 halal certification and labeling order based on Malaysia’s trade descriptions law. It lists 96 bodies in 49 countries and regions.

Indonesia’s list is the search page for overseas halal bodies on BPJPH’s official website. It has 116 approved bodies and can be filtered by country.

On the Japanese side, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) tables mutual recognition for major bodies in “Japanese Halal Certification Bodies for Overseas Exports.” The latest version is as of July 27, 2026.

Here is how to search. JAKIM’s PDF has 69 pages, with a country-by-country contents list starting on the second page. Japan is on pp. 26–28. On BPJPH’s search page, entering “Japan” in the country field shows only Japanese bodies. “Jepang,” the Indonesian word, returned no results, so use English. JAKIM’s list is in English. BPJPH’s headings are Indonesian, but names and recognition scopes are shown in English. Knowing the bodies’ English names and abbreviations lets you read them.

MAFF’s table also includes Singapore, Thailand, Gulf countries, and Türkiye. This article checks only Malaysia and Indonesia. For other countries, you need to consult their own agencies’ lists.

Six Japanese bodies recognized by Malaysia

JAKIM’s Japan section lists these six bodies. As the list is in English, the Japanese names in the Japanese article follow MAFF’s materials and the bodies’ own websites.

  • Japan Muslim Association (JMA)
  • Japan Halal Association (JHA)
  • Japan Islamic Trust (JIT)
  • Muslim Professional Japan Association (MPJA)
  • Nippon Asia Halal Association (NAHA)
  • Japan Halal Foundation (JHF)

The list gives each body’s name, address, contact details, and an image of its halal logo. It does not give a scope or expiry date for each body.

Five Japanese bodies recognized by Indonesia

Selecting Japan in BPJPH’s list returns five bodies. This list also gives recognition scopes and expiry dates.

BodyRecognition scopeExpiry date
JMAFood and chemical productsJune 30, 2028
JITFood, beverages, and cosmeticsFebruary 20, 2028
MPJAFood, beverages, drugs/pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and use goodsOctober 26, 2028
NAHAFood, beverages, drugs/pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemical productsFebruary 24, 2029
JHAFood, beverages, cosmetics, chemical products, and slaughtering servicesAugust 26, 2028

The scope names translate the list’s English terms: Food, Beverages, Drugs/Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, Chemical products, Use Goods, and Slaughtering services.

JHF is not on this list. The separate list of bodies undergoing recognition also had no Japanese bodies.

A September 2024 BPJPH announcement said JIT and JMA had completed mutual recognition, MPJA and JHA were in the process, and NAHA would proceed after accreditation. All five are now on the list.

The sources currently match when compared

Here are the three sources side by side.

BodyJAKIM’s listBPJPH’s listMAFF’s table
JMAListedListed● for both countries
JHAListedListed● for both countries
JITListedListed● for both countries
MPJAListedListed● for both countries
NAHAListedListed● for both countries
JHFListedNot listed● for Malaysia only

For Malaysia and Indonesia, the recognizing countries’ lists matched MAFF’s table. The JHA and JHF websites we checked also matched it. JHF’s homepage mentions mutual recognition with Malaysia and Singapore and recognition by a Thai body. It does not mention Indonesia.

But MAFF’s table notes that it was “prepared based on confirmation with each body and other information.” Even though it is a government publication, it compiles information confirmed with the bodies and may not have been compared with the other countries’ lists. The sources matched when we checked, but may not always do so. The recognizing countries’ lists remain the place to check.

What you can check in the lists

Recognition scopes differ by body

“Recognized in Indonesia” means different things for different bodies.

In the table above, JMA covers food and chemical products, without beverages. MPJA and NAHA include drugs/pharmaceuticals. Only JHA includes slaughtering services. For example, exporting beverages to Indonesia falls outside JMA’s scope according to this list.

For Japanese halal-certified meat processing facilities handling beef, see What Is Halal Wagyu? Wagyu Rules, Halal-Certified Meat Processing Plants, and What to Check When You Eat It.

MAFF’s notes also say to ask each body about the scope of mutual recognition. Checking whether BPJPH’s list covers your product category before contacting the body makes the conversation quicker.

Recognition has an expiry date

BPJPH’s five Japanese bodies have recognition expiry dates ranging from February 2028 to February 2029. The list also lets you check whether recognition has been renewed when a date arrives.

JAKIM’s list has no expiry dates for individual bodies. Instead, the list as a whole has an effective date and is replaced with a new version whenever revised.

Compare halal logo designs

JAKIM’s list also has images of each body’s halal logo.

Japan has no unified government halal logo. Each body has its own design. If you do not know which body issued a logo on a restaurant or product, compare it with the logos in JAKIM’s Japan section. Some bodies, such as JHA, show two kinds: one for products and one for slaughterhouses.

Once the logo tells you the body’s name, you can follow it up in the two lists.

Lists change

Both lists are revised from time to time.

In February 2025, Malaysia’s state broadcaster RTM reported that JAKIM had withdrawn recognition from three bodies in China, Croatia, and France. The current list is dated August 21, 2026. Meanwhile, a separate official JAKIM Halal Management Division page still hosted the November 2023 list. Even pages from the same agency may retain old versions.

Japan’s MAFF materials are also revised. This article uses the table as of July 27, 2026. Previously published 2025 materials had been removed from MAFF’s page.

Check the date first when reading a list.

Easy-to-miss points

Watch for similarly named bodies

The Japan Halal Foundation (JHF, japanhalal.or.jp, Taito City, Tokyo), listed by JAKIM, and the Nihon Halal Foundation (a halal certification body in Japan; not the Japan Halal Foundation), at nipponhalal.org in Minato City, Tokyo, are separate bodies. Their names are similar, but their websites and addresses differ.

Nihon Halal Foundation is not on either JAKIM’s or BPJPH’s list. It is the Nihon Halal Foundation that our article on certification costs cites as a fee example.

Certification absent from both lists

The Japan Halal Certification Promotion Organization (JHCPO), also cited in the costs article, is absent from both lists too. Its homepage says halal certification obtained in Japan is recognized in many countries, but does not name the countries or agencies.

Being absent does not make a certification meaningless. Whether it can be used for Malaysia or Indonesia is a separate question. We think it is useful to know that it is absent from at least these two countries’ official lists.

Indonesia’s transition period for halal certification of imported products ends on October 17, 2026. BPJPH says overseas bodies certifying for Indonesia must be recognized by their own country’s competent authority and also go through BPJPH’s recognition procedure. The bodies in the list above have completed that procedure.

Secondary-source lists can become outdated quickly

The costs article introduced Halal Lab (a Japanese website on halal certification)’s list as a starting point for finding each body’s mutual recognition partners. On checking again, it lists four bodies: JHA, JIT, JMA, and MPJA. NAHA and JHF are absent. The Malaysian and Indonesian entries matched the official lists, but some other countries’ entries differed from MAFF’s latest table.

Revisions to an original source do not guarantee updates to secondary sources citing it. Use secondary information as a starting point, then finish by checking the other country’s list.

Before businesses choose a certification body

The rest of this article is for restaurants, shops, and other businesses.

As our costs article explains, you can also disclose what you offer without obtaining certification. If you do seek certification, especially for Malaysian or Indonesian customers or for exports, checking the following yourself before requesting quotes makes comparison easier.

  • Is the body in JAKIM’s Japan section?
  • Is it on BPJPH’s list? If so, does the scope cover your product category?
  • When does its BPJPH recognition expire?

Then ask the questions from our costs article: the certification validity period and audit frequency, how travel and accommodation expenses are handled, and whether there is an annual fee. This gives you information for comparing quotes.

For Indonesia, a product name can cause problems separately from the body’s recognition. Even halal ingredients and production processes will not obtain certification if the name suggests something prohibited. We explain this in A “Non-Alcoholic” Label Does Not Always Mean 0.00%.

Some bodies offer certification called “Muslim-friendly,” but its meaning differs by body. We compare them in What Does “Muslim-Friendly” Mean? How It Differs from Halal Certification, and Standards That Vary by Who Uses the Label.

For the steps from application to receiving a certificate, and each body’s estimated time, see How to Get Halal Certification: The Steps from Application to Certificate, and Timeframes Given by Six Organizations.

When you see a halal logo at a restaurant

This section is for visitors.

Read the body’s name or abbreviation in the logo. If you cannot, compare it with the logos in JAKIM’s Japan section.

Once you know the body, check your own country’s official list: JAKIM for Malaysia, BPJPH for Indonesia.

A logo alone may not show which parts of the restaurant are certified. If concerned, ask the restaurant. For how to ask, see “Is It Halal?” Is Not Enough: How to Ask When Checking at a Restaurant.

For logos from six major Japanese bodies and from Malaysia and Indonesia, plus three details to check when you see them, see What Is a Halal Logo? How to Read Logos That Differ by Organization, and How to Check That One Is Genuine.

Quotes from Japanese sources in this article are our own translations.

Sources

Primary sources

Secondary sources (cited in the article and identified as such)

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