Customs Procedure

Upon arriving in Japan, passengers are obligated to meet custom requirements before they can enter the country. Below are some procedures that should assist foreign visitors:

Upon your arrival, you will be asked to declare your belongings. Declaration forms are found in the plane, ship or at the Customs office. If you carry items that must be subject to tax or duties, you are to proceed to the green channel, otherwise the red channel is where all passengers come through.

Custom tax and duties are paid in the banks and counters inside the customs office. For commercial cargos, the customs office has a separate policy and condition for these.

What are exempted from tax and duties are the following:

• Personal effects like clothing and toiletries.
• Professional equipment like laptops and cameras that are for personal use and not for sale.
• Alcoholic beverages and perfumes within the specified limits
• Household effects, including cars and boats (cargo), which will be used for more than a year’s stay in Japan.

Subsequently, if you have unaccompanied baggage, you must also submit the necessary forms at the customs office. Your baggage must be in your care within six months of your arrival. If you are expecting this baggage by mail, you must also list this in your declaration, upon your arrival at the airport.

The following are prohibited:

• Opium and narcotic drugs
• Firearms, bullets and firearm parts
• Pornographic books and any published pornographic material
• Counterfeit items e.g. money, bank bonds.

Restricted articles such as medicines and cosmetics for import are subject to inspection and if necessary, test, before it is released to the owners. Plants and animals will also be quarantined for a certain period before papers are released to the owners.