🇯🇵Taking a dog or cat to Japan: entry rules and flights

Q: What documents do I need to enter Japan?

From any country: microchip, rabies vaccination, import permit, veterinary health certificate. Depends on the departure country: rabies antibody titre test.

Q: Is a rabies titre test required for Japan?

It depends on the departure country. From United Kingdom, for example, it is required. The form above gives the exact answer for your route.

Q: Which breeds are banned from entry?

The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.

Q: Which airlines take pets in the cabin?

For example: United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, T'way Air, Korean Air. The full list with conditions is in the table above.

Q: Which airports can pets enter through?

NRT, HND, NGO, KIX, CTS, ITM, UKB, KKJ, FUK, KOJ, OKA.

✓ Rules checked: September 16, 2026Official sources only

Preparing from scratch takes about 7 months, wherever you fly from.

Japan sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs microchip, rabies vaccination, import permit and veterinary health certificate. What is needed on top — rabies antibody titre test — depends on the country you fly from.

The titre test sets the pace: blood is drawn no earlier than 30 days after the vaccination, and entry is allowed no earlier than 180 days after the draw. There is no quarantine if the rule's conditions are met — otherwise the pet is held. Pets may not enter through just any airport: there are 11 designated points. Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 58 carriers in our directory fly direct to Japan, and their pet conditions differ.

Check your own route

Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet

Dog Cat

Airlines with direct flights

58 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from Japan. Their conditions differ — the cabin weight limit, whether they carry pets in the hold, the fee and breed restrictions — so it is worth choosing the carrier before buying the ticket.

Airline	Cabin	Hold	Cabin fee	Direct flights
ANA All Nippon Airways	no pets	✓ up to 45 kg on 42 of 43 routes	—	from 43 cities in 23 countries
Japan Airlines banned breeds: 2	no pets	✓ up to 32 kg	—	from 42 cities in 19 countries
United Airlines	✓	no pets	150 USD per flight	from 14 cities in 7 countries
Delta Air Lines	✓ on 6 of 7 routes	no pets	150 USD per flight	from 7 cities in 2 countries
China Southern Airlines no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · banned breeds: 5	no pets	✓ up to 32 kg	—	from 7 cities in 1 country
T'way Air	✓ up to 9 kg	no pets	—	from 6 cities in 2 countries
China Airlines (Taiwan) no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · banned breeds: 21	no pets	✓ up to 32 kg	—	from 6 cities in 2 countries
Korean Air no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · banned breeds: 12	✓ up to 7 kg	✓ up to 45 kg	—	from 5 cities in 2 countries
EVA Air banned breeds: 7	no pets	✓ up to 32 kg	—	from 5 cities in 2 countries
Singapore Airlines no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · banned breeds: 5	no pets	✓ up to 32 kg	—	from 4 cities in 3 countries

Showing the 10 carriers serving the most cities out of 58 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.

Restrictions

The limits people find out about last: how many animals one person may bring, the minimum age and which breeds are turned away at the border.

Quarantine Yes, if the conditions are not met +

What the quarantine depends on:

missing titer or <180 days wait after blood draw
microchip unreadable or banned prefix (900202 after 19.12.2025)
advance notification (NACA Form C) late or missing
vaccine outside validity window or wrong type (RNA vaccines are not accepted)
Without compliant docs — up to 180 days quarantine at AQS at owner's expense

Banned breeds No bans +

These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.

Pets per person Not stated

Minimum age no limit; vaccination from 13 weeks

Points of entry 11 airports +

A cat does not have to arrive at one of the eleven ports with a quarantine service — but arrival anywhere else must be agreed with it in advance. Write to the Animal Quarantine Service of the airport you are flying to before buying the ticket: without prior agreement there may be no inspector on site and clearance will drag on. This concession does not extend to dogs — for them, designated ports only.

What you need to enter Japan

The full list of documents and procedures for entering Japan. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.

Identification

Microchipalways+

ISO 11784/11785, implanted before vaccination. NOTE: from 19.12.2025 microchips with prefix 900202 are not accepted.

«Dogs and cats must be identified by a microchip before the first rabies vaccination. The microchip should comply with ISO 11784 and 11785 (15 digit microchip code consists only of numbers).»

Source ↗Rules checked: May 30, 2026government

Vaccination

Rabies vaccinationalways+

A rabies vaccination BEFORE import from a designated rabies-free region is not required: the seven steps of the Japanese procedure do not mention it — microchip, 180 days of residence, notification 40 days ahead, clinical inspection, certificates, transport rules and inspection on arrival. The vaccination is needed IN JAPAN: under the Rabies Prevention Law a dog is vaccinated annually, and it must be registered with the municipality within 30 days of import.

Until 16 Sep 2026 we had «one vaccination is enough» here, backed by a quote about TWO vaccinations taken from the page for countries that are NOT rabies-free. The quote was verbatim and from the regulator's domain — but about a different regime.

«Dogs must be vaccinated against rabies once a year under the Rabies Prevention Law in Japan.»

Source ↗Rules checked: September 16, 2026government

Tests and treatments

Rabies antibody titre testdepends on origin+

Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.

FAVN or RFFIT at a MAFF-designated laboratory. ≥0.5 IU/ml. Blood draw — after the 2nd vaccination. After blood draw — 180 days waiting period before export.

«Antibody titer against rabies must be equal to or greater than 0.5 IU/ml. The test result is valid for 2 years from the date of blood sampling.»

Source ↗Rules checked: May 30, 2026government

Documents

Import permitalways+

NACA Form C — advance notification to AQS at the destination airport 40 days before arrival.

«Applicants must notify Animal Quarantine Service at the expected port of entry not less than 40 days before arrival in Japan. … In principle, a notification submitted less than 40 days before arrival in Japan is not accepted.»

Source ↗Rules checked: August 18, 2026government

Veterinary health certificatealways+

Form A — international veterinary health certificate, endorsed by the government vet of the country of origin. Valid for 10 days.

«Before leaving the exporting country (within 10 days before boarding), dogs and cats must undergo a clinical inspection by a veterinarian.»

Source ↗Rules checked: May 30, 2026government

The order of preparation

The order matters more than the list: a step done too early has to be repeated. The intervals come from the same rule fields the engine uses for the earliest departure date.

Microchip

before the rabies vaccination
Rabies vaccination

pet at least 13 weeks old
Rabies antibody titre test depends on origin

no earlier than 30 days after the vaccinationentry 180 days after the blood draw
Import permit
Veterinary health certificate

no earlier than 10 days before entry

Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.

Compared by departure country

Lapaport's engine on six examples, counted from zero: a dog of no particular breed with nothing done yet — no microchip, no vaccination, no tests — starting preparation today. Columns marked “always” are required from anywhere.

From	Microchipalways	Rabies jabalways	Titre test	Import permitalways	Health certificatealways	Earliest departurepreparing from scratch
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	April 23, 2027	Plan →
🇫🇷 France	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	April 23, 2027	Plan →
🇹🇷 Turkey	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	April 23, 2027	Plan →
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	April 23, 2027	Plan →
🇨🇳 China	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	April 23, 2027	Plan →
🇺🇸 United States	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	April 23, 2027	Plan →

If the microchip and vaccination are already done, the wait is shorter: the clock runs from the vaccination date, not from today. Breed, weight and connections change the answer too — check your own route with the form above.

Arrival airports

Pets may not enter through just any airport. Below: where direct flights go and whether animals are accepted.

On the list of entry points11

NRTNarita KIXOsaka HNDTokyo FUKFukuoka NGOTokoname OKANaha CTSSapporo UKBKobe KKJKitakyushu KOJKagoshima ITMOsaka

Not on the list of entry points1

KMJKumamoto

FAQ

What documents do I need to enter Japan?+

From any country: microchip, rabies vaccination, import permit, veterinary health certificate. Depends on the departure country: rabies antibody titre test.

Is a rabies titre test required for Japan?+

It depends on the departure country. From United Kingdom, for example, it is required. The form above gives the exact answer for your route.

Which breeds are banned from entry?+

The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.

Which airlines take pets in the cabin?+

For example: United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, T'way Air, Korean Air. The full list with conditions is in the table above.

Which airports can pets enter through?+

NRT, HND, NGO, KIX, CTS, ITM, UKB, KKJ, FUK, KOJ, OKA.

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