Japan's Government (Cabinet) amended the Enforcement Order of Occupational Safety and Health Law on October 16, 2003. The amended Enforcement Order of Occupational Safety and Health Law took into force on October 1, 2004.
Article 16 of the amended Enforcement Order of Occupational Safety and Health Law prescribes a ban on the following substances or products:

1. Yellow Phosphorus matches
2. Benzidine and its salts
3. 4-aminodiphenyl and its salts
4. Amosite, [added in 1995]
5. Crocidolite. [added in 1995]
6. 4-nitrodiphenyl and its salts
7. Bis (chloromethyl) ether
8. Beta-naphthylamine and its salts
9. Products which contain asbestos (exclusive of asbestos as listed in item 4 and 5) as listed in Appendix 8-2 inclusive of more than 1% of in weight of asbestos. [added in 2003]
10. Rubber cement containing benzene of the quantitative amount of contained benzene of more than 5% in volume of the solvent (including diluents) of the said rubber cement
11. Preparations and others which contain the chemicals as listed in item 2 to 8 inclusive of more than 1% in weight of those chemicals.

Under Appendix 8-2, the following Asbestos containing products are banned: 

1. Asbestos cement circular cylinder
2. Extrusion cement board
3. Decorative home roofing sheet
4. Fibre-reinforced cement board
5. Ceramic siding
6. Clutch facing
7. Clutch lining
8. Brake pad
9. Brake lining
10. Adhesive agent

The intention of the Government is to prohibit all asbestos containing products other than 2 exemptions:  "heatproof/electric insulation board" and "joint sheet and sealing material".
Concerning them the Government explains that "some of those products can be replaced by other non-asbestos materials, but a part of them cannot be substituted from the view point of security" and that "to specify substitutable one or not by application limits such as temperature or by types of equipments for which such product is used etc. is difficult at the present."

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) asked the relevant trade organizations to submit plans for substitutions and to fulfil accountability on technical reason if they have a product for which the substitution is difficult at this time.
Now plans for substitutions submitted by 11 trade organizations are available (in Japanese).
The Ministry expresses its intention to achieve substitutions as soon as possible and to follow-up progress in implementation of those plans periodically (every year).

Also MHLW issued the Ordinance (Standards) on Prevention of Hazards due to Asbestos on February 24, 2005 (which will taken into force on July 1, 2005) and will ratify the ILO Asbestos Convention (No. 162) very soon.
Article 1-2 of this Ordinance prescribes that “The employer shall identify the status of use of asbestos containing products and endeavor to substitute such products with non-asbestos products designedly”.

Japanese asbestos imports dropped dramatically from about 80.000 tons in 2001 to 8.186 tons in 2004. In January 2005, no asbestos import was registered.

More information: S. Furuya, Y. Natori et R. Ikeda, Asbestos in Japan, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2003, n° 9.