1 Japanese Agricultural Standard for Plywood Establishment: Notification No. 233, February 27, 2003, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Last Amendment: Notification No. 1751, December 2, 2008, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Note：This is an unofficial translation, for your reference only. (Scope of Application) Article 1 This standard shall apply to the products those having at least 3 layers of veneers (including the small square lumber for core layers) sliced using a rotary lathe or a slicer and bonded together placing the grain direction almost perpendicular to each other (hereinafter, referred to as “plywood”). (Definitions) Article 2 In this standard, the definition of the terms listed in the left column of the following table shall be those shown in the respective right column of the same table. Term Definition Plywood for General Use Among plywood products, plywood except for Concrete Forming Plywood, Structural Plywood, Natural Wood Decorative Plywood and Specially Processed Decorative Plywood. Concrete Forming Plywood Among plywood products, plywood used for the frame to form concrete to a specific shape (including those with paint or overlay applied on the surface or the surface and back (hereinafter, referred to as surface processed concrete forming plywood). Structural Plywood Among plywood products, plywood to be used for the principal structural members of buildings (including those with tongueandgroove finish). Natural Wood Decorative Plywood Among plywood products, plywood with the veneers bonded on the surface or the surface and back mainly for the purpose of aesthetic appearance of natural wood material. Specially Processed Decorative Plywood Among plywood products, plywood except for Concrete Forming Plywood and Natural Wood Decorative Plywood, having the special processing such as overlay, print and paint is applied on the surface or the surface and back. Type Special Type of plywood to be used outdoor or in the sections where constantly exposed to wet sections (environment) and which meets the requirement of Bonding Quality in Item 1 of the next Article. Type I Concrete Forming Plywood and type of plywood to be used in the sections where intermittently exposed to wet conditions (environment) and which meets the requirement of Bonding Quality in Item 2 of the next Article. Type II Type of plywood to be used in the sections where occasionally exposed to wet conditions (environment) and which meets the requirement of Bonding Quality in Item 3 of the next Article. F Type Specially Processed Decorative Plywood mainly used for table top, counter, etc. FW Type Specially Processed Decorative Plywood mainly used for bearing wall of building, as well as for furniture. W Type Specially Processed Decorative Plywood mainly used for general wall of building. SW Type Specially Processed Decorative Plywood mainly used for special wall of building. 2 (Bonding Quality) Article 3 Criteria for the bonding quality of plywood shall be as follows: 1. For Type Special, the plywood product shall meet the requirement of either (1), (2) or (3) (limited to those consist of softwood veneers only) of all of the followings: (1) As the results of Continuous Boiling Test specified in 3(2) of the Appendix, the average wood failure ratio and shear strength shall be not less than the values provided in Table (1). In this case, for layers with its fiber direction mostly parallel to that of the adjacent veneers (hereinafter, referred to as parallel layer), the length of nondelaminated portion on the same bonding layer of the specimen shall be not less than 2/3 of the length of each side. (2) As the results of Cyclic Steaming Test specified in 3(2) of the Appendix, the average wood failure ratio and shear strength shall be not less than the values provided in Table (1). In this case, for the parallel layers, the length of nondelaminated portion on the same bonding layer of the specimen shall be not less than 2/3 of the length of each side. (3) As the results of Vacuum Pressure Test as specified in 3(2) of the Appendix, the specimens shall meet the following conditions from a. to c. In this case, for the parallel layers, the length of non delaminated portion on the same bonding layer of the specimen shall be not less than 2/3 of the length of each side. a. The average wood failure ratio of all test specimens shall be not less than 80%. b. The number of test specimens with the wood failure ratio of 60% or greater shall be not less than 90%. c. The number of test specimens with the wood failure ratio of 30% or greater shall be not less than 95%. 2. For Type I, the plywood product shall meet the requirement of either (1), (2) or (3) (limited to Concrete forming plywood consists of softwood veneers only) of all of the followings. However, for Surface processed concrete forming plywood, Natural wood decorative plywood