Japan

Any past drug conviction, from any country, is its own separate ground for refusing you entry to Japan - and unlike Japan's general criminal ground it has NO minimum sentence and no expiry written into it. An old US cannabis or possession conviction still engages it. Only the Minister of Justice can grant an exception.

Stimulants Control Act (Act No. 252 of 1951), revision in force 2025-06-01: art. 41-2(1) - simple possession, transfer or receipt of stimulants without justification, up to 10 years' imprisonment, with NO fine alternative; art. 41-3(1)(i) - use in breach of art. 19, up to 10 years. Attempts are punishable. Denial of landing and deportation are administrative consequences, not penalties.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

Cannabis is illegal in Japan and is now legally classified as a narcotic, so possessing it can bring up to 7 years in prison — and since the 2023 reform, simply using it is a separate crime carrying the same 7-year maximum. Bringing any cannabis into Japan, including edibles, vape cartridges and CBD oil that contains THC, is punished far more harshly: 1 to 10 years' imprisonment.

Possession or use: up to 7 years' imprisonment (1–10 years plus a fine up to 3,000,000 yen if for profit). Import or export: 1 to 10 years' imprisonment. Attempts are punishable.

Verified Aug 20, 2026

Adderall and other amphetamine stimulants cannot be brought into Japan — even with a prescription. Risk of arrest.

Arrest and detention by Japanese authorities.

Verified Jul 15, 2026

Common cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, Actifed, Vicks inhalers) or codeine are banned in Japan — a US prescription does not make them legal.

Arrest and detention by Japanese authorities.

Verified Jul 15, 2026

Japan catches knives twice over, and the second rule has no length limit. Carrying a blade over 6 cm without a justifiable reason is an offence - and separately, carrying ANY blade concealed without a justifiable reason is an offence at any size. A switchblade is illegal to even possess.

Firearm and Sword Control Law art. 31-18(2)(ii) - carrying a blade over 6 cm in violation of art. 22: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine up to 300,000 yen. Art. 31-16(1)(i) - possessing a sword-class blade (including a switchblade) in violation of art. 3(1): up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine up to 500,000 yen. Minor Offences Act art. 1 - penal detention of 1 to 29 days (Penal Code art. 16) or a petty fine of 1,000 to 9,999 yen (Penal Code art. 17); under art. 2 a court may impose both cumulatively or waive punishment.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

You must declare to Japan Customs if you carry cash or monetary instruments worth more than 1,000,000 yen (about US$6,500) into or out of the country.

Failure to declare can bring fines and criminal charges.

Verified Jul 6, 2026

Do NOT bring meat or fresh produce into Japan. Jerky, ham, salami, a leftover ham sandwich or an apple can mean up to 3 years in prison or a 3,000,000 yen fine, and travellers have been arrested. Everything else you carry is duty-free only up to 200,000 yen total.

MAFF Plant Protection Station: "Illegally bringing fruits, vegetables, etc. and meat and meat products into Japan can result in penalties such as imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 3 million yen (up to 50 million yen for business entities)." The police are notified where the import is assessed as malicious, and MAFF states "There are people who were arrested for illegally bringing in such items." Customs-Law prohibited articles may be confiscated and discarded or ordered re-shipped.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

Japan gives you 3 bottles of alcohol duty-free, and it counts a bottle as 760 ml. If you are under 20 you get ZERO alcohol allowance - no exception, even though Japan's adult age is 18.

Exceeding the allowance is a TAX consequence, not a fine: excess is dutied at the simplified rates above. Japan Customs' declaration form warns that "Any false declaration or failure to declare may be subject to penalty in laws and regulations concerned" but states no amount.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

Nicotine e-liquid is regulated as a medicine in Japan - you may bring in only a personal-use amount (up to about a two-month supply; one month for prescription-class drugs) without an import certificate, and importing it for sale requires a license.

Larger amounts need a Yakkan Shoumei import certificate.

Verified Jul 6, 2026

Japan HALVED its tobacco allowance on 1 October 2021. It is now 200 cigarettes OR 50 cigars OR 10 packs of heated tobacco OR 250 g of other tobacco - not all of them. Mix any two kinds and your whole allowance drops to 250 g. Under 20 gets nothing.

Exceeding the allowance is a TAX consequence: 15 yen per cigarette, 15 yen per heated-tobacco stick, 50 yen per capsule or cartridge. Japan Customs warns that a false declaration or failure to declare may be penalised but states no amount.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

You may drive in Japan only with an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention — IDPs issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention are not accepted here.

Driving without a valid permit is unlicensed driving (fines, possible arrest).

Verified Jul 26, 2026

Japan registers drones from 100 g - well below the EU's 250 g - so a Mini-class drone that needs nothing in Europe needs registration and a broadcasting Remote ID here. Flying unregistered is up to 1 year in prison or a 500,000 yen fine, and a visitor can only register by international post, so it cannot be done on arrival.

Civil Aeronautics Act art. 157-7(1)(i) - flying an unregistered drone: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine up to 500,000 yen. Art. 157-9(1) - flying without the marking/Remote ID measures, flying in prohibited airspace, or breaching the night-flight, visual-line-of-sight, 30 m separation, over-event, dangerous-goods or object-dropping rules: fine up to 500,000 yen. Act No. 67 of 2023 art. 2(1) - covert sexual photographing: up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine up to 3,000,000 yen; art. 3, providing such records to many persons or public display, up to 5 years or 5,000,000 yen.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

Your phone, laptop, tablet and Bluetooth earbuds are fine - Japan's Radio Act specifically lets visitors use foreign-certified Wi-Fi and Bluetooth gear for 90 days from the day you enter. It does NOT cover a travel Wi-Fi router, which needs the Japanese technical-conformity mark.

Radio Act art. 110: imprisonment up to 1 year or a fine up to 1,000,000 yen. Note the verbs - the offence attaches to ESTABLISHING (item i) or OPERATING (item ii) a radio station without the art. 4 licence, not to importing or merely carrying the device.

Verified Aug 27, 2026

There are no restrictions in Japanese law on same-sex sexual relations or the organization of gay and lesbian events.

Verified Jul 22, 2026

Carry your passport every moment you are in Japan - a police officer can demand it on the spot, and refusing is a criminal offence with a fine up to 100,000 yen. You may legally decline to answer a street officer's questions, but you may not decline to hand over the passport.

Immigration Act art. 76: an ordinary fine of up to 100,000 yen for failing to carry the passport or for refusing to present it. Minor Offences Act art. 1: penal detention of 1 to 29 days (Penal Code art. 16) or a petty fine of 1,000 to 9,999 yen (Penal Code art. 17) - the two lightest penalties in Japanese law, both distinct from ordinary imprisonment and ordinary fines; art. 2 lets a court impose both or waive punishment. The Police Duties Execution Act carries NO penalty on the individual: declining to answer a street stop is not itself an offence, and the compulsion in that encounter comes from the passport duty, not from the questioning power.

Verified Aug 27, 2026