Quarantine – Plant, Animal and Food

2022/7/14

Introduction

Bringing animal products into Japan from overseas is prohibited

Passengers bringing plants and plant products (including fruits, vegetables, and seeds) or animals and animals products (including meat products, milk, eggs) into Japan must have them inspected at the Plant and Animal Quarantine counter and have relevant certification/documentation. Certification is issued by an organisation (Department of Agriculture and Water Resources) of the exporting government. Those who bring these products into Japan without permission could be prosecuted. Required documentation:
 
Your shoes need to be disinfected on arrival at Japan. Please refrain from visiting farms with livestock before departing for Japan. Passengers who have visited a farm, or been in contact with livestock or who have shoes that have been contaminated with soil should stop at the Animal Quarantine.
 
You don’t need to have an import inspection for highly processed foods and items such as wooden furniture, tea, canned or bottle products.  For example, it is fine to bring Tim Tams and chocolate or lollies into Japan. Customs / Quarantine will let you take these items into Japan with no certification/permission. Please read HERE for further information.
 
Summary
Type Examples Action
Plant Protection Station
  Items that are prohibited entry into 
  Japan		   Avocadoes, Cashews, Kiwi Fruits 
  etc… Full List		  
  You cannot take any of these plants
  or their products into Japan as they
  are banned.
 
 
  Items subject to an Import 
  Inspection
 		  
  Seeds, grains, cereals, dried flowers,
  beans and legumes, nuts, etc…
 		  
  A Phytosanitary Certificates is
  required.
 
 
  Items not subject to an Import 
  Inspection
 		  
  Highly processed foods – wooden
  furniture, tea, canned or bottled
  products (i.e. Tim Tams, Chocolate)
 		   Usually you don’t need an
  inspection and you can go straight
  through Quarantine/Customs.
Animal Quarantine Station
  Importing Animals into Japan   Dogs, Cats, Horses, Cows,
  Monkeys, etc…		  
  You must meet import requirements
  and obtain certification.
 
  Importing Animal Products into 
  Japan		   Meat Products, eggs, honey, milk,
  etc…		  
  You must obtain an Inspection 
  Certificate.
 

More stringent application of penalties for violation againstthe Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control

With regard to an illegal introduction of livestock products, based on the Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control, it was subject to the punishment with penal servitude for a term up to three years or a fine up to one million yen.  However, under the practical operation, application of this punishment had been limited to cases with high illegality such as a case of selling illegally introduced livestock products in Japan.  With regard to the illegal introduction for the objective of personal consumption and souvenir, Animal Quarantine Service (AQS) had urged the passengers to abandon the products.
 
Risk of introducing transboundary animal diseases into Japan is increasing, due to the increased illegal introduction of livestock products, following the sharp increase of number of visitors to Japan, e.g. recent isolation of African swine fever virus from passenger baggage illegally introduced from People’s Republic of China.
(Attachment 1: number of cases of illegal introduction of livestock products in passenger baggage. (1.6 time higher within five years.)
2014: around 57,000 cases → 2018: around 94,000 cases）
 
In light of this situation, in case of detection of illegal introduction of livestock product, in principle, AQS will issue a warning statement for all cases which will be saved into database. In addition, for malicious case such as duplication by a purposeful and malicious manner, AQS will cope rigorously such as to report the case to police or press charges.  This has taken place since 22nd April 2019 Monday (Attachment 2).
 

Information

1. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries Website (English / Japanese)

Contact Information

If you have any further quarantine enquiries, after reading the above information, please direct them to the relevant quarantine stations in Japan.
 
Quarantine Stations 
Importation of Food Products – Not Subject to an Import Inspection
   (All Japanese Quarantine Stations Food Inspection Division / Narita International Airport)
    Narita Airport
    Telephone: +81-476-32-6741
    Email: narita-keneki@keneki.go.jp		  
    Haneda Airport
    Telephone: +81-3-6847-9320
    Email: tokyoairport-keneki@keneki.go.jp
 
 
    Osaka (Kansai) International Airport
    Telephone: +81-724-55-1290
    Email: kanku-keneki@keneki.go.jp
 		     Chubu Airport (Nagoya)
    Telephone: +81-569-38-8195
    Email: chubuairport-keneki@keneki.go.jp

    Contact List of Japanese Quarantine Stations
    For further contact information including other areas in Japan, please click HERE.
 
Plant Protection Station
    Yokohama Plant Protection Station
    Telephone: +81 -45-211-7152
    Contact Form: HERE

 		  
    Narita International Airport
    Yokohama Plant Protection Station, Narita
    Terminal1 Telephone:+81-476-32-6694
    Terminals 2/3 Telephone:+81-476-34-2352
 
Animal Quarantine Station
    Yokohama Head Office
    Telephone: +81-45-751-5921
    Online Form: Import / Export

 		  
    Animal Quarantine Station, Narita Branch
    Terminal1 Telephone:+81-476-32-6664
    Terminal2 Telephone:+81-476-34-2342
    Terminal3 Telephone:+81-476-34-4260
    Email: na-k1@aqs.maff.go.jp

Back to Top