Bringing Your Pet to Japan: The Complete Import Guide for Cats and Dogs (2026)

Why Is Japan's Pet Import Process So Strict?

Japan is one of a small number of countries in the world that has maintained rabies-free status. To protect this public health achievement, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries — through its Animal Quarantine Service (AQS) — enforces one of the most rigorous pet import protocols in the world.

If your pet arrives without the correct documentation, it will be held in an AQS detention facility for up to 180 days. You pay the running cost yourself — think ¥3,000–5,000 a day — and visits are not something you can count on. Failing the inspection entirely can also mean your pet is refused entry.

The good news: the process is entirely manageable if you start planning early — ideally six to nine months before your intended travel date.

Which Countries Does This Guide Apply To?

AQS divides origin countries into two categories:

The Designated Regions are few and specific: Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Guam and Hawaii (USA). Check the AQS guide for the designated regions before you assume your country qualifies — the list is short, and countries that many owners expect to see on it, such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, are not included.

Everywhere else — the mainland United States, Canada, all of continental Europe, the UK, Ireland, Asia, Africa and South America — is a non-designated region and must complete the full procedure. This guide covers the full procedure.

Full Procedure Overview

The complete process involves 8 steps. From a pet that has never been vaccinated, the fastest possible run from Step 1 to entry into Japan is about seven months — the 180-day wait alone accounts for six of them.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Microchip Implantation

All cats and dogs entering Japan must be implanted with a 15-digit ISO 11784/11785-compliant microchip.

⚠️ Critical rule: The microchip must be implanted before any vaccinations are recorded. If a vaccination is given before the microchip is implanted, AQS will not recognise that vaccination, and you will need to restart the vaccination schedule from scratch after the chip is in place.

• Choose a veterinarian experienced with international pet exports
• Obtain written documentation of the chip number after implantation
• Ask the vet to scan and confirm chip readability at every subsequent visit

📄 If a rabies vaccination was given before the microchip went in, the vaccination is normally void — but MAFF does allow a limited exception in certain cases. Read its conditions document before restarting a vaccination series.

⚠️ Two chip types to avoid. AQS does not accept microchips whose numbers start with "900 202" (from 7 April 2023), and it has found chips with duplicate numbers in circulation — prefixes 900113, 900115, 900128, 900201, 900215, 900217 and 900263 are the ones being watched. If your pet falls into either group, AQS may ask for a new chip and for the procedures to be redone, so send your import notification as soon as your dates are set.

Step 2 & 3: Rabies Vaccinations (Minimum 2 Doses)

• 1st dose: After microchip implantation; pet must be at least 91 days (approximately 3 months) old
• 2nd dose: At least 30 days after the 1st dose
• Vaccine type: Inactivated (killed) or recombinant rabies vaccines only — AQS does not accept live or RNA vaccines
• Boosters: Keep vaccination continuous through the 180-day waiting period and until arrival — your pet must land while the vaccine is still effective

💡 After each vaccination, obtain a certificate in English (or the official language recognised by AQS for your departure country) that includes the microchip number, vaccination date, vaccine brand, and batch number. These documents will be required for the health certificate.

Step 4: Rabies Antibody Test

This is the step that most owners underestimate — and the one most likely to cause delays if anything goes wrong.

Blood draw timing:

• The sample must be taken after the second rabies vaccination. It can be drawn the same day as that second dose, and many clinics do exactly that to save a month
• AQS applies no 30-day gap after the second dose — that gap applies between the first and second vaccinations
• The blood must be drawn while the vaccination is still effective

Test standard:

• Must use the FAVN (Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization) or RFFIT method
• Result must be ≥ 0.5 IU/mL

Where to send the sample: only MAFF-designated laboratories can perform this test — results from any other laboratory are not accepted. Ask your chosen laboratory for its own sample-preparation and shipping instructions before booking the blood draw; serum handling and paperwork rules are set by the laboratory, not by your clinic. Owners in countries without a designated laboratory can ship the sample abroad.

⚠️ Check the laboratory list before you pay for shipping. MAFF revoked the designation of BioBest Laboratories Ltd. (UK) on 25 June 2025 after finding it no longer met the designation standards, and has also removed a laboratory in Arras, France. If your pet's report was issued by BioBest between 27 November 2024 and 25 June 2025, contact the AQS office at your arrival airport — MAFF is reviewing those certificates case by case and will write to owners who have already filed their import notification.

⚠️ If the result is below 0.5 IU/mL, you must administer a booster vaccine and redraw blood. The 180-day waiting period restarts from the new blood draw date.

Step 5: The 180-Day Waiting Period

The 180-day countdown begins on the blood draw date — not the date results are received, and not the vaccination date. This waiting period is non-negotiable for pets from non-designated countries.

Example calculations:

Two validity windows to watch:

• Your pet must arrive while the rabies vaccination is still effective — renew boosters as needed
• The antibody test is valid for two years from the blood sampling date. If it expires before you travel, a new sample is needed; as long as vaccination has stayed continuous, MAFF allows that new sample to be taken at least 180 days after the first one, so you do not have to serve a second waiting period

During the waiting period:

• Keep rabies vaccinations current, and ask your vet to record every dose against the microchip number
• Use this time to arrange flights, accommodation (not all landlords in Japan accept pets), and the advance AQS notification

Step 6: Advance Notification to AQS

You must notify the AQS office at your arrival airport at least 40 days before your pet lands in Japan. Notifications filed later than that are, in principle, not accepted, so book your flight first and notify straight afterwards.

How to notify:

• Online through NACCS, the animal quarantine section of Japan's import/export processing system. You need a user ID, and MAFF publishes a step-by-step manual and video for first-time applicants
• Or by email, using the notification form linked from the AQS import guide
• Either way, include owner details, pet details, microchip number, antibody test results, arrival airport, flight number and arrival date

AQS reviews the notification and issues an Approval of Import Inspection of Animals. Bring it with you on travel day. Two things catch owners out. First, some changes are not accepted in principle — moving the arrival date earlier, adding an animal, swapping the animal, or anything after the scheduled arrival date — while other details can be amended using the "Modification on Notification of Import of Animals" form (by email, or through NACCS if that is how you filed). Second, if the detention facility at your airport is full, AQS may ask you to shift your arrival date or use a different port.

Airports most owners arrive through:

Dogs can only enter Japan through the ports AQS designates: the airports at New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu (Centrair), Kansai, Osaka Itami, Kobe, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Naha, and the seaports at Tomakomai, Keihin (Tokyo/Yokohama), Nagoya, Hanshin (Osaka/Kobe), Kanmon, Hakata, Kagoshima and Naha. Cats may also be cleared at other ports, but you have to contact AQS in advance.

💡 Opening hours are less of a problem than most guides suggest. For pets travelling with you — hand luggage, in-cabin or checked baggage — the quarantine service is available at any hour, whatever the day. Fixed reception hours apply only to pets arriving as air cargo, and those hours are stated in your approval. Check which case applies to you when you book.

Step 7: Clinical Inspection and Government Certificate (Within 10 Days of Boarding)

Two things happen in the final stretch:

1. A clinical inspection by a veterinarian, within 10 days before boarding. The vet confirms the pet shows no clinical signs of rabies — and, for dogs, no signs of leptospirosis — and re-checks that the microchip reads correctly
2. A certificate issued by the government agency of your exporting country (the body that corresponds to AQS in Japan), officially endorsed. Japan accepts your country's own certificate format, or MAFF's recommended form — Form AC for pets from non-designated regions, Form AB for pets from the designated regions. Both are laid out so that nothing gets missed

The certificate needs to state:

1. Your pet's identity details, including date of birth or age
2. Microchip number and the date it was implanted
3. Vaccination dates, the type of vaccine, product name, manufacturer, and how long the vaccine remains effective
4. Blood sampling date, antibody titre, and the name of the designated laboratory
5. The result and date of the pre-export clinical inspection

⚠️ Fill certificates out in ink — no pencil or erasable pen, and no correction fluid. Deficiencies can mean detention of up to 180 days or refusal of entry, so AQS recommends emailing copies of your certificates to the quarantine office before you travel so officers can check them.

Since December 2022 AQS has also accepted electronic (paperless) health certificates, provided the issuing government notifies it in advance. So far the United States, Brazil and Spain have taken that route, from 26 March 2024. Ask your national authority whether yours qualifies.

The endorsing authority varies by country. Examples:

Step 8: Airport Quarantine Inspection in Japan

Upon arriving in Japan, clear passport control, collect your pet's carrier and then go to the Animal Quarantine Service counter before you pass through customs. Bring the following (originals plus copies):

• AQS approval form (Approval of Import Inspection of Animals)
• Government-issued health certificate (original)
• Rabies vaccination records
• Rabies antibody test report from the designated laboratory (original)
• Microchip number documentation
• Your passport

Inspection process:

1. AQS staff review all documents
2. Microchip is scanned and matched against documentation
3. A brief veterinary visual inspection may be conducted

Expected time: AQS completes the import inspection within 12 hours of arrival when your pet meets the requirements; in practice, well-prepared owners are usually through within one to three hours of reaching the counter.

🚨 If documents are missing or non-compliant, your pet is transferred to an AQS detention facility until the shortfall is resolved — up to 180 days, at your expense (in practice roughly ¥3,000–5,000 per day). Depending on the inspection result, entry can also be refused, so the pet would have to be returned to the exporting country.

Airline Considerations

Airline policies on pet transport vary significantly — cabin vs cargo, size and weight limits, breed restrictions, and booking procedures differ by carrier and route. Always contact your airline directly before purchasing tickets. Policies change without notice.

General guidelines:

Book early — airlines typically limit the number of live animals per flight.

Estimated Costs

Costs vary by country. The following are indicative ranges in USD:

If the titer test fails and must be repeated, add another $100–300 and restart the 180-day waiting period.

Recommended Timeline (Starting From Scratch)

Already vaccinated? You can skip the wait. If the microchip was implanted before those vaccinations, the antibody test was done at a designated laboratory within the last two years with a result of at least 0.5 IU/mL, and vaccination has stayed continuous, the 180-day period has effectively already run while your pet was at home. Your fixed deadlines then become the 40-day notification and the certificate issued within 10 days of boarding — allow roughly two months for paperwork.