Can you bring your medication into Japan?

Yes, if the drug is allowed in Japan and you stay within a one-month supply. Oral and external medicine for personal use up to one month needs no procedure. Some common drugs are banned outright, prescription or not, so check each active ingredient before you pack.

More than a month needs a Yakkan Shoumei (import confirmation), applied for online before you arrive. You need a prescription or doctor’s note and proof of your flight, and it is issued in a few business days. Injectables with syringes under one month are allowed. Posting narcotics, psychotropics or stimulant raw materials to Japan is prohibited too. The health ministry’s Q&A is the primary source here, and Japan Customs lists the prohibited goods.

• Ask your doctor for a Japan-permitted alternative.
• Buy over-the-counter medicine in Japan.

• Keep medicine in the original packaging and carry the prescription.
• The doctor’s note for an import confirmation names the patient, the medicine and the doctor. Syringes on their own also need confirmation.
• Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta): sources disagree, so ask the regional bureau before you pack it.
• Do not exceed one month without an import confirmation.
• Check every active ingredient against the ministry’s prohibited list.