Bringing Medication into Japan

You can bring most prescription and over-the-counter medicine into Japan for your own use without any paperwork, as long as the quantity stays within fixed limits: up to one month's supply of prescription medicine and up to two months' supply of most other medicines, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) guidance for people bringing medicines for personal use. Above those limits you need an import confirmation certificate, the yunyū kakuninshō (輸入確認証), which replaced the older yakkan shōmei (薬監証明, often searched as "yakkan shoumei"). A small group of substances follows separate rules: narcotics and stimulants' raw materials need a permit before you travel, psychotropics have their own quantity table and can need both a doctor's certificate and an import confirmation, and some medicines, including amphetamine-based stimulants, cannot be brought into Japan at all.

This guide summarizes the rules as published on MHLW, Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare, and Narcotics Control Department pages, as of September 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Import rules are revised from time to time, so confirm the details for your own medicines with the office that handles your arrival airport or port before you travel.

How much medicine can you bring into Japan without paperwork?

Bringing medicine across the border counts as a personal import (個人輸入, kojin yunyū). The MHLW Japanese-language page on personal imports explains that an individual normally has to prove to a regional bureau that an import is not commercial, but that within set quantities the goods can be imported after a check by customs alone. The same page stresses that the medicine must be for your own use: selling or giving it to other people is not allowed, and neither is bundling other people's medicine into your own import.

Quantities are judged from the dosage and directions on the medicine, not from the number of boxes. The MHLW gives a worked example: a tablet taken two at a time, three times a day, is counted as 360 tablets for a two-month supply, so with 20 tablets per box you could bring up to 18 boxes. Disposable two-day contact lenses are counted the same way, which works out to 30 pairs for two months.

Personal-use limits for medicine and related products brought into Japan, as of September 2026. Sources: MHLW personal-import pages (English and Japanese), MHLW import-confirmation Q&A, and Narcotics Control Department application guidance, Controlled Substances List and psychotropics table (the psychotropics table is published by the Narcotics Control Department).

Category	Limit with no application	Above the limit, or special rule
Prescription drugs, poisons and powerful drugs (処方箋薬・毒薬・劇薬)	Up to 1 month's supply	Import confirmation (yunyū kakuninshō) before arrival
Injectable drugs with a pre-filled syringe or self-injection kit	Up to 1 month's supply; this allowance does not cover injectable psychotropics or narcotics (see their rows)	Import confirmation; syringes brought without the medicine need one even for a single piece
External-use drugs that are not prescription drugs (ointments, eye drops)	Up to 24 per item	Import confirmation
Other drugs and quasi-drugs (most over-the-counter medicine)	Up to 2 months' supply	Import confirmation
Household medical devices (for example, electric massagers)	1 set	Import confirmation; devices for medical professionals cannot be imported by individuals
Disposable contact lenses	Up to 2 months' supply	Import confirmation
Psychotropics (向精神薬), tablets and other non-injectable forms	Up to the amount in the psychotropics table published by the Narcotics Control Department (for example, zolpidem 300 mg, alprazolam 72 mg) AND no more than 1 month's supply; non-injectable forms only	Above the table amount, or any injectable: carry a doctor's certificate. More than 1 month's supply, or any injectable: an import confirmation obtained in advance is also required
Narcotics (for example, morphine, oxycodone) and stimulants' raw materials (for example, lisdexamfetamine)	None	Advance permission from the director of the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare, applied for through the Narcotics Control Department. Not every narcotic can be permitted: methadone taken for treating a substance-use disorder is prohibited
Stimulants (amphetamine, methamphetamine)	Prohibited	Cannot be imported, even with a prescription
Cannabis in plant form (whole plant, flower spike, leaf); other cannabis and THCA	Plant form prohibited; no personal allowance for any cannabis product	The MHLW page states that importing cannabis plants, cannabis resin and the like is prohibited and punished. The Narcotics Control Department list classes cannabis not in plant form, and THCA, as narcotics; a narcotics permit covers only narcotics prescribed to the traveler carrying them. Do not assume any cannabis product can be brought in; confirm with the Narcotics Control Department

Two further lists sit on top of these limits. Some medicines that could cause serious harm if taken without medical supervision cannot be imported by an individual in any quantity unless a doctor's prescription or instructions can be confirmed; MHLW lists these as items that need its confirmation regardless of quantity, so an import confirmation application is required even within the one-month allowance. A separate MHLW list covers certain ingredients sold abroad with claims of improving brain function or other mental effects; these also need a prescription regardless of quantity, except when a visitor carries them for their own treatment during a stay in Japan.

What is the yunyū kakuninshō (formerly yakkan shōmei), and how do you apply?

The yunyū kakuninshō is the certificate a regional bureau issues to confirm that an import is for personal, non-commercial use. According to the MHLW, anything previously imported with a yakkan shōmei has required an import confirmation certificate instead since September 1, 2020, following a revision of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act. Many travel guides still use the old name for what is now the import confirmation. If you want to bring, for example, more than one month's supply of a prescription medicine, the MHLW question-and-answer sheet on importing medicines says you need to apply for import confirmation before entering Japan.

Applications are now made online. The Kanto-Shin'etsu Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare import procedures page (dated June 16, 2026) states that from July 1, 2025, applications for import confirmation are in principle to be made through the online Import Confirmation Information System, and its English note asks travelers seeking a Yunyu Kakunin-sho to apply online. If your application is accepted, the certificate is sent as a PDF to the email address you registered.

The MHLW Q&A lists the documents to attach when you will carry the medicine yourself:

• A valid prescription or doctor's note showing the patient's name, the medicine, and the doctor's name, covering every medicine or medical device in the application.
• A document from the airline or cruise company showing your arrival date, arrival airport or port, flight or cruise number, and passenger name, such as an itinerary or a copy of the ticket.

The certificate is normally issued within a few business days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays, provided the application is complete. On arrival, show it if customs asks for it. The Q&A warns that you must never correct or alter the certificate, because an altered certificate becomes invalid; if your application is returned, the reason and instructions are sent to your registered email address.

Which bureau handles your case depends on where the goods enter Japan. The Kanto-Shin'etsu bureau covers the Hakodate, Tokyo and Yokohama customs districts, which include Narita and Haneda airports. The Kinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare import page (updated August 6, 2026) covers the Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Moji, Nagasaki and Okinawa customs districts, which include Kansai, Chubu Centrair, Fukuoka and Naha airports.

Which medicines are prohibited even with a prescription?

Some medicines that are legal prescriptions elsewhere cannot enter Japan at all. The Narcotics Control Department application guidance for travelers states that no individual traveler can import or export medicines containing heroin, opium powder, methamphetamine and amphetamine (including dexamphetamine and levamfetamine), or methaqualone, even when they are prescribed in the traveler's home country. Its FAQ confirms that amphetamine-based ADHD medicines are controlled as stimulants and cannot be imported even for treatment, whereas lisdexamfetamine is a stimulants' raw material that can be brought in with advance permission. The Controlled Substances List in Japan published by the Narcotics Control Department adds methadone to the prohibited items: import or export is prohibited when you take methadone for treating a substance-use disorder, even though methadone is otherwise listed as a narcotic.

The MHLW Japanese-language page lists further categories that are banned. It states that import of cannabis plants (Cannabis sativa L.), cannabis resin and the like (大麻草、大麻樹脂等) is prohibited, citing the Cannabis Control Act (大麻取締法), as is import of "designated substances" (指定薬物, shitei yakubutsu) such as isobutyl nitrite, 5-MeO-MIPT and salvinorin A. For each of these bans, and for the ban on importing stimulants, the page states that violations are punished (違反した場合には処罰されます). Some traditional medicines are restricted under the Washington Convention on endangered species, including products containing rhinoceros horn, musk, tiger bone or bear bile, and counterfeit goods that infringe intellectual property cannot be imported under the Customs Act.

The two sources describe cannabis differently. The MHLW page still cites the Cannabis Control Act, while the Controlled Substances List, dated December 12, 2024, names the Act on Regulation of Cultivation of Cannabis Plants among the laws it is issued under. That list marks cannabis in plant form (whole plant, flower spike, leaf) as a prohibited substance, and classes cannabis that does not have the shape of a cannabis plant, and THCA, as narcotics; the MHLW English page allows narcotics to be brought in only when they are prescribed to the traveler carrying them. Neither source describes any cannabis product that a traveler can bring in freely, so do not assume that any cannabis product is importable, and confirm with the Narcotics Control Department before you travel.

Ordinary cold and cough remedies deserve a check too. The same Controlled Substances List classifies ephedrine and pseudoephedrine as stimulants' raw materials, but excludes any substance containing 10% or less of them; codeine is a narcotic, but substances with 1% or less of codeine are excluded. The list does not include brand names, so the Narcotics Control Department suggests checking the category of your medicine with the doctor who prescribed it. The version linked from its site in September 2026 carries a December 2024 date in its file name.

What if your medicine is a narcotic or psychotropic?

Narcotics and stimulants' raw materials need permission both for entering and for leaving Japan, and a permit is not available for every substance: the MHLW English page adds that you cannot bring prohibited or controlled narcotics or stimulants' raw materials in any case, and the prohibited items above, including methadone for a substance-use disorder, cannot be permitted. The same page states that this permission is granted by the director of the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare and must be received before you leave home; the application itself goes to the Narcotics Control Department. The Narcotics Control Department gives morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, codeine and tapentadol as examples of narcotics, and notes that tramadol is not a narcotic. You apply by email, fax or mail to the Narcotics Control Department office covering the area where you arrive in Japan (or, for residents, where you live), at least 14 days before you travel. The office warns that its Tokyo branch cannot accept last-minute applications for any reason.

The Narcotics Control Department's general guidance lists an import application form (plus an export form if you plan to leave Japan with leftover medicine), a medical certificate from your prescribing doctor, and photos of the medicine's packaging showing its name and strength. That list is not complete for every airport: for arrivals at Haneda or Narita, the department's separate notice for those airports also asks for a driver's license or utility bill to verify your current address (not needed if that address is on the medical certificate) and, if you will stay in Japan for more than 90 days, a visa, work contract or letter of acceptance. Check the department's page for any notice covering your own airport. The medical certificate must include your name and current address, the specific reason you take the medicine, a list of the medicines with doses and strength, and the doctor's signature, and it must have been issued within the previous three months. Once you have the permit, you must carry the medicine yourself and show the import certificate to a customs officer; you cannot send it to Japan or ask a family member to carry it for you.

Psychotropics, such as many sleep medicines, anti-anxiety medicines and methylphenidate, follow a lighter rule. The Narcotics Control Department says that bringing an amount equal to or less than the figure in its psychotropics quantity table, which the department publishes, in a form other than an injection, requires neither a doctor's certificate nor permission. Examples from the table include zolpidem 300 mg, alprazolam 72 mg, triazolam 15 mg, methylphenidate 2.16 g and modafinil 6 g. If you bring more than the table amount, or any injectable psychotropic, you should carry a certificate from your doctor stating the disease, why you need the medicine, and the names and quantities prescribed. Separately, the MHLW Japanese-language page states that if you carry in more than one month's supply of a medical psychotropic, or any injectable form, you must obtain an import confirmation in advance. The two requirements come from different pages, so bringing a psychotropic with no paperwork at all means staying within both the table amount and one month's supply, in non-injectable form, and a large or injectable supply can need both the doctor's certificate and the import confirmation.

Are medical devices, syringes and contact lenses treated differently?

Medical devices follow the same basic procedure as medicines, with their own limits. You can bring one set of a household medical device, such as an electric massager, and up to two months' supply of disposable contact lenses without applying for import confirmation. The MHLW Japanese-language page adds disposable items such as tampons, and in vitro diagnostics such as ovulation tests, at up to two months' supply, and it states plainly that an ordinary individual cannot import medical devices intended for medical professionals. Products sold as beauty devices can also count as medical devices if they are meant to affect the structure or function of the body.

Syringes depend on what they travel with. According to the MHLW Q&A, if you bring self-injected medicine such as insulin together with its syringes, and the amount is less than one month's supply, no import confirmation is required. Syringes brought on their own, without the medicine, are treated as medical devices and need import confirmation even for a single piece.

Can someone mail medicine to you in Japan?

Ordinary prescription medicine can be sent to you within the same limits, but controlled medicines cannot. The MHLW Q&A allows general prescription medicine to be sent for personal use up to one month's supply, and states that sending psychotropics, narcotics and stimulants' raw materials is not permitted. The MHLW Japanese-language page is equally clear that narcotics, psychotropics and stimulants' raw materials cannot be carried in by another person or ordered from overseas by international mail; they must travel with the patient. The same page states that importing them other than by the patient they were prescribed to, carrying them in person, is prohibited and punished.

If a parcel of medicine is stopped at customs, you apply for import confirmation online, attaching the invoice, the courier's air waybill or the postcard from customs, and a valid prescription or doctor's note. The importer's name and the patient's name on the prescription must be the same. The Kinki bureau notes that these customs postcards, titled 外国から到着した郵便物の税関手続のお知らせ, come from international mail offices in Osaka, Chubu, Fukuoka and Naha, and asks recipients to select the purpose of the parcel on its page.

What should you check before you travel?

The points below pull together the checks described on the MHLW and Narcotics Control Department pages cited above. They apply to every medicine you plan to bring, including over-the-counter products and anything you take only occasionally.

• Identify the active ingredient of every medicine you take, and check it against the Controlled Substances List and the psychotropics table rather than relying on the brand name.
• Count your supply by dosage: more than one month of a prescription medicine, more than two months of other medicine, more than 24 of an external-use item such as an ointment or eye drops, or any medicine on the MHLW lists that need confirmation regardless of quantity, means applying for a yunyū kakuninshō online before you leave. Narcotics and stimulants' raw materials need their separate permission in any quantity.
• For a psychotropic, compare your supply with the psychotropics table and with one month's supply: above the table amount, or for any injectable, you need a doctor's certificate; above one month's supply, or for any injectable, you must also obtain an import confirmation in advance.
• For a narcotic or stimulants' raw material, apply to the Narcotics Control Department at least 14 days ahead, and include an export form if you will leave with leftover medicine; arriving at Haneda or Narita, also send the extra documents in the department's notice for those airports.
• If your medicine contains amphetamine (including dexamphetamine) or methamphetamine, or you take methadone for a substance-use disorder, talk to your doctor well before travel, because it cannot be brought into Japan.
• Carry narcotics, psychotropics and stimulants' raw materials with you: they cannot be mailed to Japan or carried in by another person.

If anything is unclear, contact the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare for your arrival airport about ordinary medicines and devices, or the Narcotics Control Department about narcotics, psychotropics and stimulants' raw materials. Their written confirmation is the reliable answer for your own case.