Bringing birth control to Japan: the pill, Plan B and what's available here

By Natsuko Shibata, pharmacist licensed in Japan · Updated 2026-09-25

The short answer

  • Oral contraceptives: allowed, as prescription medicines. Up to one month's supply without paperwork. A three-month pack needs an Import Confirmation (Yunyu Kakunin-sho), applied for online before you travel.
  • Emergency contraception (Plan B, levonorgestrel; ella, ulipristal): allowed. A single-dose pack is nowhere near any limit. Levonorgestrel is now sold without a prescription in Japan; ulipristal isn't approved here.
  • The ring, the patch and the implant: allowed to bring in within one month's supply, but not sold or fitted in Japan, so plan for what happens when yours runs out.
  • Nothing here is controlled, so no permit and no certificate; the only paperwork is the Import Confirmation for larger quantities.

For the general rules, see Bringing your medication to Japan.

The one-month line, in packs

The limit is judged from the label. For the pill, that's straightforward: one 28-day pack (or one 21-day pack) is one month. Two packs are two months, and you need an Import Confirmation. Extended-cycle products like Seasonique, where one pack is 91 days, are three months in one box and need one.

The Import Confirmation is an online application to the regional health bureau and isn't difficult, but it takes time and you'll need a copy of your prescription. Details are in the main guide. People moving to Japan for a year with a year's supply are exactly who it's for.

Keep packs in their original blister and box. Loose pills can't be counted against a label.

Emergency contraception

According to the manufacturer, levonorgestrel (Plan B One-Step and generics) has been sold in Japan without a prescription since 2 February 2026, under the brand name Norlevo, with a generic that followed in March. It is a pharmacist-only medicine: you buy it at a participating pharmacy or drugstore from a pharmacist who has completed the required training, only for yourself, and you take it in front of the pharmacist. There is no age limit and no consent from a partner or parent is needed. Not every pharmacy stocks it, so if you might need it, find a participating pharmacy near where you're staying before you need one. Gynecology clinics, including online consultations, still prescribe it as well.

Ulipristal (ella) is not approved in Japan and can't be bought here. A pack you bring for yourself comes in under the ordinary personal-import rule.

The practical point: if you'd want emergency contraception available quickly, bringing a pack with you is simpler than working out where to get it in a new country in a hurry.

Getting the pill in Japan

Low-dose oral contraceptives are prescription medicines here, prescribed by gynecologists (and increasingly through online clinics). The brands and progestin types overlap with what's sold abroad, but not one to one, so the exact pill you take may not exist here and a doctor will pick an equivalent.

  • Contraception isn't covered by health insurance. When the pill is prescribed for contraception, you pay the full price at the clinic or pharmacy; prices vary by clinic and product. When it's prescribed for a medical condition such as dysmenorrhea or endometriosis, insurance can apply.
  • First visits usually involve a consultation and sometimes tests; a letter from your doctor with the product name, progestin and dose helps.
  • Prescription length is at the doctor's discretion within the usual rules; a few months at a time is common once you're established.

What isn't available in Japan

As far as we know, these are not approved for contraception in Japan:

  • The vaginal ring (NuvaRing)
  • The patch (Xulane, Evra)
  • The implant (Nexplanon)
  • Depo-Provera injections for contraception

You can bring a month's supply of the ring or patch with you, but there is no way to continue them here. If you use one of these and are staying longer than a month, the conversation to have before you leave is with your own doctor, about what you'll switch to. Copper and hormonal IUDs are available in Japan, fitted at gynecology clinics.

Before you travel

  • One pack: nothing to do. More than one pack: apply for the Import Confirmation online well before you fly.
  • Bring a copy of your prescription and a note of the product name and progestin.
  • If you use the ring, patch or implant, arrange the switch before you leave, not after.
  • Emergency contraception: a pack in your bag is the simplest plan.

The Japan Medication Entry Check

If your contraception is one of several medicines you're bringing, the Japan Medication Entry Check is a written review of your whole list by a licensed pharmacist in Japan. We go through each item, tell you which category it falls into and what paperwork it needs, with links to the official pages, and explain how that category of medicine is generally handled here. You file the Import Confirmation yourself; we don't file it for you. It isn't an official ruling, and it isn't a decision about your treatment. The price is US$200, with additional items at US$20 each.

See the Entry Check — US$200

Official sources

I am a pharmacist. I cannot diagnose you or tell you to stop a medicine your doctor has prescribed.