🇯🇵Country requirements

Japan pet travel requirements

Dogs and cats from most of the world need a microchip, two rabies shots, a passing antibody test and a 180-day wait before they land, plus a notice to Animal Quarantine (AQS) at least 40 days ahead. From the six designated rabies-free regions (Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Guam) there is no vaccine, test or wait. Rabbits get a 1-day AQS quarantine; ferrets go through the health ministry's quarantine stations instead. Japan publishes no limit on the number of pets.

Latest check recorded: Nov 12, 2026Source: Animal Quarantine Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF AQS) By the CollarPass team
Pet

Browse destination requirements by pet. Conditions can differ by origin, travel history and entry option.

This free guide includes the checked information and official links we have for this pet. Personal travel reports are available for dogs and cats only.

Pet travel at a glance — free

Start with the destination's requirements for this pet. Documents and preparation vary by origin and other conditions; read the full guidance and any unverified details below.

Which pets can enter

  • Dog: Depends on the conditions below
  • Cat: Depends on the conditions below
  • Rabbit: Some requirements need confirmation
  • Ferret: Requirements listed below
Read species and route restrictions

Entering Japan

Reference requirements for this pet. Read each item's conditions: different origins, histories and entry options can require different steps. Each item links to its official source and check date.

Before you travel

1

Ferret kept in the rabies-free area for 6 months, or since birth

Leaving from an area on Japan's health ministry list of rabies-free areas, the ferret must have been kept there for the past 6 months, or since birth. The exporting government's health certificate states this.

Ferrets · Departure countries/regions: AU, FJ, GB, GU, IE, IS, NO, NZ, SE, US-HI

This list (Australia, Guam, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Iceland, Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Norway) is dated July 2013 and differs from the list for dogs and cats; confirm it with the quarantine station.

A ferret transferred into a designated area can also qualify if the authorities verified the non-designated-area premises or quarantine conditions at that earlier import and it has remained in the designated area ever since. Ask the quarantine station which evidence it needs; simply changing departure country does not erase the previous history.

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

2

Ferret kept where no rabies was reported for 12 months

The ferret must have been kept for the past 12 months, or since birth, at premises where no rabies has been reported for 12 months, or for the past 6 months (or since birth) in an export quarantine facility supervised by the government. If it was moved between places, the move must have carried no rabies risk. The exporting government's health certificate states this.

Ferrets · Except when all of these apply: (Departure countries/regions: AU, FJ, GB, GU, IE, IS, NO, NZ, SE, US-HI)

The ministry defines premises as the place the animal was kept but doesn't say outright whether a private home counts; ask the quarantine station.

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

3

Health certificate from the exporting country's government (ferrets)

Ferrets are not checked by Animal Quarantine (AQS) but by the health ministry's quarantine stations. You need a health certificate in English from the exporting country's government, with its seal or embossed stamp and an official's signature, stating that the ferret shows no signs of rabies at export and meets the keeping conditions. The original travels with the ferret. This procedure does not prescribe a rabies vaccination or antibody test, but the keeping-history conditions still apply. The notification is filed after arrival; an advance document check is optional.

Ferrets

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Animal Quarantine Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF AQS) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

4

Optional: send your papers to the quarantine station for a pre-check

The quarantine station at your arrival port can check your papers before the flight. Fill in the import notification form except the parts you'll only know on arrival, and send it with a copy of the certificate by fax, post or in person. The pre-check isn't the notification itself, which you file on arrival.

Ferrets

If you'll land late at night or early in the morning, or the flight is delayed, contact the quarantine station in advance.

Import notification form for animals (MHLW, attached form 3)

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

5

File the import notification at the quarantine station on arrival (ferrets)

As soon as you land, hand the import notification (2 copies), the original government certificate, ID such as your passport and, for cargo, a copy of the air waybill to the health ministry's quarantine station at the port. Once it's accepted you get a receipt, and customs clears the ferret only with it. There is no quarantine.

Ferrets

The rule says 'without delay after arrival' and sets no exact time limit; plan to file it on the day you land.

If the papers don't meet the rules, the ferret is sent back or euthanized, at your cost. Bringing one in without filing can mean a fine of up to 500,000 yen.

Import notification form for animals (MHLW, attached form 3)

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

How many pets can you bring?

Caps recorded for Japan can depend on the species, origin and entry conditions. Your airline can set a lower limit.

No pet cap recorded

We have not recorded a per-person or per-entry pet cap for Japan. Check the official sources before booking.

Official forms and documents

Links go to the issuing authority. We do not sell, fill in or issue official documents.

Import notification form for animals (MHLW, attached form 3)Official page · Checked Oct 21, 2026

Open the official page to download or complete the form. Requirements can change; confirm with the authority before you travel.

Official sources

Every rule above is checked against these pages. Dates show our last check, not the page's own update.

Recent rule changes

Sourced entries that affect this country.

Expanded destination-specific pet requirements, including origin-country branches, young-animal exemptions, official documents and entry options. Known unverified details remain clearly marked; free country summaries and personal trip reports use the same rules.

All rule updates

Checked current Australian group-specific and returning-pet guides, the live New Zealand rabbit-to-Australia case, and New Zealand 2021/2026 transition and certificate models. Added species-specific preparation, reciprocal rabbit procedures and explicit entry options; corrected calendar-month and laboratory-receipt waits and CDC domestic-journey handling. Known source conflicts and history-dependent checks remain marked. Also checked Australian dog/cat export procedures for New Zealand and the Canadian US-bound cat/ferret endorsement exemption; unverified export species remain explicit gaps.

All rule updates

Personal reports now focus on dogs and cats; other pets keep free checked summaries and official links. Updated current China and Korea source branches, European country lists and Italian guidance; represented Japan's Kyrgyzstan suspension without incorrectly keeping Uzbekistan suspended. Vaccination expiry uses the actual certificate where required, with documented continuous-booster exemptions and explicit remaining evidence gaps.

All rule updates

Checked current official guidance on CDC digital and wet signatures and seals, Japanese export-inspection appointments and a future application-deadline notice. Verified the live Dutch US private-pet result: route-specific instructions still require NVWA confirmation. This records library verification, not a claim that the law changed on this date; remaining authority and case-specific checks stay visible.

All rule updates