Can I bring Klonopin to Japan?
By Natsuko Shibata, pharmacist licensed in Japan · Updated 2026-09-25
The short answer
Yes. Clonazepam, the active ingredient in Klonopin and Rivotril, is a Class 3 psychotropic in Japan. It can be brought in for your own use, with no permit.
Two lines decide whether you need anything:
- 180 mg of clonazepam in total. Up to this, no documents. Above it, carry a certificate from your doctor.
- One month's supply. Up to this, no application. Above it, you need an Import Confirmation before you travel.
The general rules are in Bringing your medication to Japan; the certificate and Import Confirmation work exactly as described in Can I bring Xanax to Japan?.
What 180 mg looks like
- 0.5 mg tablets: 360 tablets
- 1 mg tablets: 180 tablets
- 2 mg tablets: 90 tablets
At 1 mg twice a day, a month is 60 mg, well under the line. At 2 mg three times a day, a month is exactly 180 mg. Orally disintegrating tablets (Klonopin wafers) count the same way.
Because the total is generous relative to usual doses, for most people the one-month rule is the one that bites: a three-month supply at 1 mg twice a day (180 mg) is on the total line but needs an Import Confirmation because it's over one month.
Carrying it
- Original packaging with the pharmacy label.
- Hand luggage, carried by you.
- Certificate and any Import Confirmation with the medicine, if you need them.
Clonazepam in Japan
Clonazepam is prescribed in Japan under the brand names Rivotril (リボトリール) and Landsen (ランドセン) and as a generic, in 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 2 mg tablets and as a powder. Any licensed doctor can prescribe it. The important difference is what it's approved for.
- In Japan, clonazepam is approved as an anti-epileptic. The label covers seizure types, not panic disorder or anxiety. Those are the uses most people abroad take it for, and in Japan they are off-label. A doctor here can still prescribe it, and whether to do so is entirely their decision, but don't expect it to be automatic.
- Prescription length for clonazepam in Japan can be up to 90 days, longer than for most other benzodiazepines, reflecting its anti-epileptic classification. Prescriptions expire four days after issue.
- For anxiety, doctors here tend to reach for other medicines. Which, if any, is a decision for the doctor you see.
Bring an English letter from your prescriber with the diagnosis, the dose, and how long you have taken it. If you take clonazepam for seizures, say so clearly: it changes how the conversation goes. If you've taken it daily for a long time, say that too; stopping suddenly is a medical question.
The Japan Medication Entry Check
If Klonopin 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.
Official sources
- Narcotics Control Department: Application Guidance (English) — psychotropics section
- Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare: Psychotropics — total amounts you can carry
- Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Bureau: Import procedures and the online Import Confirmation system
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Rules for insured medical care — prescription validity and prescribing limits
I am a pharmacist. I cannot diagnose you or tell you to stop a medicine your doctor has prescribed.