JAPAN

Pets

On arrival in Japan, dogs and cats must undergo import quarantine for a set period to screen out rabies (and in the case of dogs, rabies and leptospirosis), depending on conditions.

Furthermore, in order to check whether they have contracted the diseases in isolation from other animals or humans, the animals are held in the quarantine facilities of the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS). Please bear in mind that even when a long quarantine period is necessary, quarantine cannot be allowed at any place other than the premises of AQS.

When trying to import dogs or cats, you must submit advance notification of the planned date of arrival, number of animals and other items to the Animal Quarantine Service which has jurisdiction over your intended port of arrival at least 40 days prior to arrival in Japan. Please note that you may be requested to change the date or place of import depending on the availability situation of quarantine facilities at the Animal Quarantine Service.

If you have a certificate for the animal issued by the responsible government agency of the country of export containing necessary information such as the microchip number for individual identification, dates of rabies vaccinations and rabies antibody levels as well as stating that the animal underwent 180 days wait in the country of export, the quarantine period will be completed within12 hours. In all other cases the quarantine period will be up to 180 days.

The Animal Quarantine Service will issue an Import Quarantine Certificate on completion of the import quarantine. Importers of dogs are required to register their dogs under the Rabies Prevention Law and may need to take the Import Quarantine Certificate to the local authorities of the destination of the dog.

【NOTICE!】

Dogs can only be imported through the following 18 seaports and airports: Tomakomai Port, Keihin Port, Nagoya Port, Osaka Port, Kobe Port, Kanmon Port, Hakata Port, Kagoshima Port, Naha Port, Shin-Chitose Airport, Narita International Airport, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Chubu International Airport, Kansai International Airport,New Kitakyushu Airport, Fukuoka Airport, Kagoshima Airport and Naha Airport.

General Information

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters which make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun