Bringing your medication to Japan

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

The short version

A prescription from another country can't be filled at a Japanese pharmacy. What you bring is what you have until you see a doctor here.
Whether a medicine can come in depends on two things: what is in it (the active ingredient, not the brand name) and how much of it you carry.
Most everyday medicines are fine in small amounts. Some need paperwork, some need a permit applied for weeks in advance, and a few can't come in at all, even with a prescription.
Everything below is as of September 2026. The rules change, and the final decision is made by Japanese customs and the regional health bureau, not by this page.

What you can bring without paperwork

For your own use, carried in your luggage, these amounts need no application:

Prescription medicines: up to 1 month's supply, judged by the dosing on the label.
Over-the-counter medicines: up to 2 months' supply.
Topical products such as creams and ointments: up to 24 items. Prescription-only products, and forms like suppositories, lozenges and sublingual tablets, don't count here; they fall under the limits above.
Self-injected medicines such as insulin, carried together with their syringes: up to 1 month's supply.
Adrenaline auto-injectors: up to two, to allow for a spare.

There are three catches.

The amount is worked out from the label. If the label doesn't show a daily dose, the officer can't confirm you are within the limit, and you'll need an Import Confirmation. Keep medicines in their original packaging with the pharmacy label.

Splitting a supply across several bags or shipments doesn't reset the limit. What counts is the total for the same product over the period.

A small number of medicines need an Import Confirmation from the first tablet, whatever the quantity, because of the risk of taking them without supervision. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare keeps the list. It is short, but worth checking if a medicine of yours is unusual.

When you need an Import Confirmation (輸入確認証)

If you are bringing more than the amounts above, which is typical for anyone moving to Japan with three or six months of a prescription, you need an Import Confirmation (Yunyu Kakunin-sho) before you arrive.

It is an online application. Since July 2025, the Ministry's online Import Confirmation system has been the standard route. Postal applications still exist but are no longer the default.
The office depends on where you land. The Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Bureau handles arrivals through the Tokyo, Yokohama and Hakodate customs areas, which includes Narita and Haneda. The Kinki Regional Bureau handles the rest, including Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and Okinawa.
Expect to provide the product details and quantity, and a copy of your prescription or a letter from your doctor.
Processing time isn't published as a fixed number of days. Apply as early as you can, not the week you fly.
You can apply yourself. If you'd rather not, administrative scriveners (gyoseishoshi) handle these applications for a fee. Anyone applying on your behalf needs a letter of authorisation from you.

Controlled medicines: three different sets of rules

Some medicines are also controlled under Japan's drug-control laws, and the rules differ by category:

Narcotics and stimulant raw materials need a permit from the Narcotics Control Department before you travel.
Psychotropics need no permit. Above a set amount you carry documents; that's all.
Amphetamine-type stimulants can't come in under any circumstances.

These rules sit on top of the quantity limits above. A medicine in the first two groups can still need an Import Confirmation if you bring more than one month's supply.

Narcotics and stimulant raw materials: permit required

This covers strong opioid painkillers (for example morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl). It also covers medicines Japan classes as "stimulant raw materials", which include lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) and some decongestants with a high proportion of pseudoephedrine.

You need a permit from the Narcotics Control Department of the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare before you travel.
The deadline is two weeks before arrival. If you are closer than that, phone the bureau; they may not be able to process it in time.
Documents: the application form; a doctor's certificate in English or Japanese giving your name and address, why you need the medicine, the product name and strength, and the daily dose; and something showing the product name, such as a copy of the pharmacy label.
There is no fee.
If you live overseas, apply to the bureau that covers the airport you are arriving at.
You receive a Japanese permit and an English certificate. Carry both with the medicine and show them at customs.
Only you can carry it. The medicine can't be posted separately or carried by someone else, even with the permit.

Psychotropics: documents above a set amount

This covers, for example, methylphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin), modafinil, and benzodiazepines and sleep medicines such as alprazolam and zolpidem. Methylphenidate is a Class 1 psychotropic in Japan, not a narcotic or a stimulant, so no permit from the Narcotics Control Department is needed and there is nothing to apply for in advance. Within the set amount for the ingredient, and within one month's supply, you carry it like any other prescription medicine. Above the set amount, you must carry a copy of your prescription or a doctor's certificate stating your name, address, the medicine and the quantity.

A few of the set amounts (the total you can carry without documents):

Methylphenidate: 2.16 g
Modafinil: 6 g
Alprazolam: 72 mg
Zolpidem: 300 mg
Lorazepam: 90 mg

A month of methylphenidate at 54 mg a day comes to 1.62 g, so it's under the line. At 72 mg a day it comes to exactly 2.16 g. The full list is published by the Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Bureau (link at the end).

Psychotropics in injectable form, or more than one month's supply, also need an Import Confirmation.

Can't come in at all

Amphetamine and methamphetamine, including Adderall and other amphetamine-based ADHD medicines. This applies even with a prescription and a doctor's letter.
Heroin and opium preparations.

Cannabis-derived products

Since December 2024, CBD products are allowed only if their residual THC is below strict limits; above them, the product is treated as a narcotic. From 1 June 2026, CBN is a designated substance and products containing it are banned. If the label doesn't state the THC content, you have no way to show the product is within the limits.

What this list doesn't cover

These are the common cases, not the complete law. Some ingredients are controlled in Japan but not where you live, and a brand name can hide an ingredient you wouldn't expect. Check each medicine by its active ingredient.

If your medicine can't come in

The usual route is to bring what you legally can, then see a doctor in Japan who can continue treatment.

Japan may not have the same thing. It may have the same ingredient under another brand, a different ingredient in the same class, or nothing equivalent. A doctor here decides what to prescribe and isn't obliged to continue your current treatment.
Some medicines can only be prescribed by registered doctors. This includes several ADHD medicines. A guide on getting Concerta in Japan is coming.
Allow for the gap. Getting a first appointment can take longer than you expect, particularly in psychiatry. We don't have reliable waiting-time figures, so plan for weeks, not days.
Bring an English letter from your doctor with the diagnosis, the active ingredient, the dose and how long you have taken it. It gives a Japanese doctor something to work from.
Japanese prescriptions expire quickly. A prescription is valid for four days including the day it's issued, so fill it promptly.

To find a doctor who works in English, JNTO (the Japan National Tourism Organization) has a searchable list of medical institutions, and the AMDA International Medical Information Center gives phone guidance in several languages. In Tokyo, the metropolitan government's Himawari service does the same.

Before you pack

Write down the active ingredient and strength of each medicine, not just the brand.
Work out the total quantity against the daily dose, and compare it with the limits above.
Keep everything in its original packaging with the pharmacy label.
Bring a copy of each prescription and a letter from your doctor in English.
Print any permit or Import Confirmation and keep it in your hand luggage with the medicine.
Carry it yourself. Medicines posted to you later are subject to their own rules, and some can't be posted at all.
Check again shortly before you leave. The CBN ban in June 2026 is a recent example of how quickly things change.

The Japan Medication Entry Check

If you'd rather not work through this alone, the Japan Medication Entry Check is a written review of your medication list by a licensed pharmacist in Japan.

You send your list. We go through each item against the rules above: which category it falls into, whether your quantity is within the limit, and what paperwork, if any, it needs, with links to the official pages.
If something can't come in, we tell you what is generally available in Japan for that type of medicine and point you to resources for finding an English-speaking clinic. Deciding on your treatment is between you and a doctor here.
Price: US$200, with additional items at US$20 each. See the Entry Check page for what's included.
Timing: replies are not same-day. Send your list well before you travel. It is not for urgent situations.

What it isn't:

Not an official ruling. Customs and the regional health bureau make the final decision.
Not an application service. You file the Import Confirmation or permit yourself. We can point you to an administrative scrivener if you want one.
Not a decision about your treatment. Whether to change or stop a medicine is between you and your doctor.

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.