Food Export Requirements for Japan
What do I need to export food to Japan?
To sell food in Japan, the shipment needs a Japanese importer who files an import notification with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for every consignment. The product must also meet Japan's Food Sanitation Act standards: only additives Japan permits, residues within Japan's limits, compliant packaging, and certificates for meat and certain other high-risk foods. Plant and animal products also go through quarantine run by the agriculture ministry (MAFF), and the label must follow Japan's Food Labeling Act.
1. Import notification and border checks (MHLW)
- Every shipment is notified. Anyone importing food, additives, food utensils or packaging for sale or business use must notify the Minister "on a case-by-case basis" (Article 27) [1]. The importer does the filing, so as the exporter you need a partner in Japan.
- How it works: MHLW's Import Procedure page says:
- The form goes to the quarantine station for the port of entry, on paper or electronically.
- Inspectors check the exporting country, manufacturer, place of manufacture, ingredients, manufacturing method and additives used.
- Shipments may be sampled under routine monitoring, an inspection order or an administrative inspection.
- A compliant shipment receives a Certificate of Notification. A non-compliant one cannot be imported.
- Inspection orders: If similar goods from the same producer have failed, or a failure is likely given conditions where it is made, the importer can be ordered to have the goods tested. The goods cannot be sold until the result arrives, and the importer pays the fee (Article 26) [2][1].
- Import bans: Food from a specific country, region or producer can be banned where many violations are found (Article 9) [3].
2. Certificates and HACCP for certain foods
- Meat, milk and organs of livestock, and poultry meat: these need a certificate from the exporting country's government confirming the animals were not diseased, abnormal or dead. For some countries the certificate data is sent electronically instead (Article 10(2)) [4][5].
- HACCP: foods designated by ministry order must come from countries, regions or facilities recognised as applying controls on critical processes (Article 11(1)). Other designated foods need a government sanitary certificate (Article 11(2)) [5].
- Which foods: the 2018 amendment added sanitary certificates for dairy products and fishery products as an import condition [6]. MHLW's page lists meat products, dairy items, oysters for raw eating and pufferfish.
3. Product composition
- Additives: only additives the Minister has approved may be used, apart from natural flavourings and ordinary foods used as additives (Article 12) [5]. Check each additive against:
- Additive use limits: permitted additives are tied to particular foods and maximum levels. For example, sorbic acid is allowed in listed foods such as cheese, jam, ketchup and meat products. If it is used in margarine together with benzoic acid, the two combined must not exceed 1.0 g/kg [9].
- Standards (Article 13(1)-(2)): food or additives that fail Japan's compositional, manufacturing or use standards cannot be imported [10].
- Residues (positive list system): residues of pesticides, feed additives or veterinary drugs above the level the Minister sets are prohibited unless a specific limit exists (Article 13(3)) [11]. MHLW's Q&A says the default limit is 0.01 ppm. It applies where a substance has no Japanese registration and no international or major-country limit [12].
- General bans: food that is spoiled, contains toxic substances, is contaminated with pathogens or carries foreign matter cannot be sold (Article 6) [13][14]. Novel things not generally eaten can be banned (Article 7) [14].
- GM crops: these must be on MHLW's safety-assessed list (e.g. soybean entries [15]).
4. Packaging and contact materials Packaging must meet Japanese standards (Article 18(2)). For specified materials, a substance may only be used if the standards set its permitted content or migration level (Article 18(3)) [16][17]. This "positive list" covers synthetic resins (plastics) [18].
5. Labelling (Consumer Affairs Agency, CAA) Food labelling falls under the Food Labeling Act (Act No. 70 of 2013), not the Food Sanitation Act [17].
- Packaged processed food shows: name, ingredients (with allergens), additives, net content, expiry date, storage, the responsible business and a nutrition table [19].
- Allergens: labelling is mandatory for shrimp, crab, walnut, wheat, buckwheat, egg, milk and peanut. Labelling of 20 further items, such as soybean, sesame, almond and beef, is recommended. Japan's list does not match other countries' lists [20].
- Nutrition: declared in the order calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium (shown as salt equivalent) [20].
- Dates: a best-before date for slow-deteriorating foods, a use-by date for perishable ones [21].
- Health claims: these need the separate approval or notification schemes. For Foods for Special Dietary Uses, an importer applicant must say it is the importer and give its name and address, and medicine-like efficacy claims are barred [22].
6. Plant and animal quarantine (MAFF)
- Plants: fruits, vegetables, grains and beans need a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting government plus an import inspection. Soil and some country-specific items are banned. Processed products that pose no pest risk are exempt (Plant Protection Station).
- Animal products: meat, organs, eggs, dairy and processed derivatives need a government inspection certificate and an Animal Quarantine Service inspection. Products from regions with animal-disease outbreaks are barred, and heat-processing or vacuum-packing is no exemption (Animal Quarantine Service).
7. Common reasons shipments fail MHLW's 2025 violation records list 781 cases:
| Legal basis | What it covers | Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Article 13(2) | Compositional and use standards | 376 |
| Article 6(ii) | Toxic substances, e.g. aflatoxin | 127 |
| Article 13(3) | Residues over the limit | 113 |
| Article 6(i) | Spoiled food | 55 |
| Article 18(2) | Packaging | 54 |
| Article 12 | Unapproved additives | 49 |
Typical cases:
- sodium benzoate in pickles where it is not allowed [23];
- coliform-positive Italian ice milk [24];
- the unapproved colour azorubine in a Spanish liqueur [25];
- chlorpyrifos at 0.02 ppm in Indian chickpea flour [26];
- polypropylene boxes failing a migration test [27].
The Act articles above come from the official provisional English translation of the Food Sanitation Act as amended by Act No. 46 of 2018. If you tell me the product and its origin, I can check its additives, residue limits and certificate needs.
Approach: I searched the Food Sanitation Act and its Enforcement Order translations, MHLW's additive, residue, GM and import-violation records, and CAA labelling documents, then opened the official MHLW and MAFF import pages. Japan's full product-by-product residue limits and the full Food Labeling Standards text are not in the datasets I searched.
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Do I need a Japanese importer to do it?
Not necessarily a Japanese importer company, but you do need someone in Japan. The Food Sanitation Act does not require the importer to be Japanese. Japan Customs does require an overseas importer to appoint an agent based in Japan, so in practice you either sell to a Japanese importer or import in your own name through a Japan-based agent.
What the law says about who files
- Food Sanitation Act: Article 27 puts the import notification on "a person who intends to import food, additives, apparatus, or containers and packaging for the purpose of sale or to use in business." The notification is made to the Minister "on a case-by-case basis" [1]. The Act does not say that person must be Japanese or live in Japan.
- MHLW import guidance: the Import Procedure page says the importer sends the form to the quarantine station at the port of import. It says nothing about residency, agents or the foreign exporter's role.
- Japan Customs: a person living abroad who wants to file import declarations must name a Customs Procedure Agent in Japan. The agent must be registered with the customs office handling the goods before clearance starts (Japan Customs FAQ 9601).
- The agent must be based in Japan: it needs an address or residence there (for a company, its head or principal office).
- What the agent does: files the declaration, attends customs inspections, pays duties, and receives and sends documents on your behalf.
- What you register with: a proxy or contract, proof that you exist (an overseas company register or certificate of residence), proof that the agent exists, and a chart showing the commercial or transaction flow.
Your two options
- Sell to a Japanese importer (the usual route). The importer files the MHLW notification and clears customs. It also carries the importer's duties under the Act:
- It must take tests ordered under Article 26 and pay for them. The goods cannot be sold until the results arrive [1].
- It is a food business operator under Article 3, defined to include anyone who imports food. Operators must work to keep the food safe and to keep records of their suppliers [28].
- It must report recalls to the prefectural governor under Article 58 [29].
- Import in your own name as a non-resident. You appoint a Customs Procedure Agent in Japan, and you take on the importer's duties above, including MHLW's case-by-case notifications.
Other things that need a presence in Japan
- Business notification: under the 2019 enforcement amendments, businesses that do not directly handle food, "such as food importers", are exempt from the new food-business notification to the prefecture [30]. So an importer that only trades the goods needs no prefectural licence or notification for that activity.
- Label: packaged processed food must show the responsible business [19].
- Foods for Special Dietary Uses: an importer that applies must say it is the importer and give its name and address [22].
Approach: I searched the English translations of the Food Sanitation Act and its Enforcement Order, plus Japan's WTO notifications and the Consumer Affairs Agency labelling documents. I also opened MHLW's import procedure page and Japan Customs' guidance for non-residents. I did not find an official text that says whether a non-resident can file the MHLW food import notification directly.
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Can I bring food into Japan in my luggage?
Yes, for your own use, but plant and animal quarantine still apply. Meat products without a government inspection certificate from the exporting country cannot come in, even in small amounts or as souvenirs. Fresh fruit, vegetables and seeds need a phytosanitary certificate and an import inspection. Food you plan to sell or use in a business needs the full MHLW import notification, even if you carry it in your bags.
1. Food safety notification (MHLW)
- Only for sale or business use. Article 27 of the Food Sanitation Act applies to "a person who intends to import food... for the purpose of sale or to use in business." That person must notify the Minister for each shipment [1]. MHLW's guidance on imported foods says the same.
- Personal use: neither the Act nor MHLW's guidance gives an explicit exemption for personal-use food, or a quantity limit. The obligation is simply worded around sale or business use.
- Commercial samples or stock: if the food in your luggage is for sale or business use, the export steps from my first answer still apply. That includes trade samples.
2. Animal products (MAFF Animal Quarantine Service) From the Animal Quarantine Service page:
- Meat products such as sausages, ham and jerky need a government inspection certificate from the exporting country. Being for personal use or a souvenir is no exception.
- No exemptions: heat-processing, vacuum-packing or small personal amounts do not exempt a product.
- Duty-free purchases: items that are banned, suspended or lack a certificate cannot be brought in, even if bought at a duty-free shop.
- Eggs and dairy: eggs, including shells, are subject to quarantine. Raw milk and dairy products are restricted, with some exceptions for passenger baggage.
- Declaration: if you do not declare meat or animal products and they are found in your luggage, you can be punished. People have been arrested on suspicion of illegally importing livestock products.
- Penalties (from 1 July 2020): up to 3 years' custodial sentence or a fine of up to 3 million yen for individuals, and up to 50 million yen for businesses.
3. Plants and plant foods (MAFF Plant Protection Station) From the Plant Protection Station page:
- All plants need inspection, "even plants purchased at duty-free shops, small-sized plants and so forth." Fruit, vegetables and seeds are named examples.
- Certificate: you need a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country's government, and you present the items for inspection before customs.
- Banned outright: soil, and plants with soil attached. Some fruits and vegetables are banned depending on where they were grown.
- Exempt: processed products whose plant ingredients pose no risk of bringing in harmful pests.
- Penalties: importing without a certificate or inspection can mean up to three years in jail or a fine of up to three million yen under the Plant Protection Act.
4. Customs (Japan Customs) From the passenger clearance page:
- Declaration: all arriving passengers must declare their belongings. Electronic declaration through Visit Japan Web is recommended.
- Alcohol: up to 3 bottles of about 760 cc each are duty-free.
- Other goods: duty-free up to a total overseas market value of 200,000 yen. Items under 10,000 yen each do not count towards that total.
- Plants and animals are listed as restricted items that need quarantine inspection.
Approach: I searched the English translation of the Food Sanitation Act, then opened the official MAFF Animal Quarantine Service, MAFF Plant Protection Station, MHLW and Japan Customs pages. Japan's rules for passengers' baggage are not in the datasets I can search.
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