Bringing in medicine from your own country

The Japanese government restricts the import of foreign medicine and medical devices even if you are bringing it in for your personal use.

You may bring the following into Japan without restriction:

Name	Japanese	Supply limit
Prescription medicine	処方せん薬, shohousen yaku	Up to a 1 month supply
External use medicine （e.g. non- prescription creams）	外用剤, gaiyouzai	24 normal size packages of each type of medicine
Other types of medicine and quasi-drugs （e.g. nutritional supplements）	その他の医薬品・医薬部外品, sono hoka no iyakuhin/iyaku bugaihin	Up to a 2 month supply
Cosmetics	化粧品, keshouhin	24 normal size packages of each type of cosmetic
Poisonous materials	毒薬, dokuyaku	Up to a 1 month supply
Medical devices for personal use （e.g. electric massaging tools）	家庭用医療機器, kateiyou iryou kiki	1 set
Disposable medical items （e.g. contacts, tampons）	使い捨て医療機器, tsukaisute iryou kiki	Up to a 2 month supply
Diagnostic medicine/devices （e.g. for testing ovulation）	体外用診断薬, taigaiyou shindanyaku	Up to a 2 month supply

More details can be found at

• Information for those who are bringing medicines for personal use into Japan（外部リンク）

However, you cannot bring illegal/restricted drugs into Japan even if you obtained them legally in your own country. Please confirm with your nearest Japanese embassy or consulate whether you can bring your medicine or medical device into Japan.

Medicine Import Certificate

If you need to bring in a larger supply or an item not listed here, you must fill out an import certificate called the Medicine Import Certificate （薬監証明, yakkan shoumei） and get it approved before coming to Japan. Please read more at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s website.

• Information for those who are bringing medicines for personal use into Japan（外部リンク）

Illegal and Restricted Drugs

Medicine that is legal in your country may not be legal in Japan. Be sure to double-check with your nearest Japanese embassy or consulate whether you can bring your medicine or medical device into Japan.

Narcotics and psychotropic drugs

You may not import any narcotics or psychotropic drugs into Japan without prior permission from the Japanese government.

Stimulants

Stimulants are strictly prohibited in Japan. Methamphetamine and amphetamine are illegal but even some types of allergy medicine and prescription medicine can have stimulants so please confirm whether you can bring your medicine into Japan.

Cannabis/Marijuana

Anything related to the cannabis drug is strictly prohibited.

Other types of illegal drugs

More information on drugs illegal for import into Japan can be found at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s website.

• Information for those who are bringing medicines for personal use into Japan（外部リンク）