Japan entry requirements: passport, Visit Japan Web, medicines and customs

To enter Japan on holiday you need a valid passport, and visa rules depend on your nationality; three things need preparing before you leave: the arrival declarations on Visit Japan Web, your medicines, which Japan controls strictly, and, from 2029 at the latest, an electronic travel authorisation. This guide takes them in the order you will meet them.

Passport and visa: the rule for your country

The accepted document, the length of stay without a visa and other useful details, for children or driving licences, depend on the country that issued your passport. The rules for your country:

Two rules apply to all foreign visitors:

• Carry your passport. In Japan, a foreign national must be able to show their passport at all times.
• Photo and fingerprints on arrival. At immigration, every foreign visitor aged 16 or over is photographed and fingerprinted.

Before you travel, check France Diplomatiediplomatie.belgium.beDFAE (eda.admin.ch)mae.gouvernement.luGOV.UK (FCDO)ireland.ie (DFA)Auswärtiges AmtRegeringen (UD)Udenrigsministeriet (um.dk)RegjeringenOdyseusz (MSZ)MZV ČRBMEIANederland WereldwijdViaggiare Sicuriexteriores.gob.esPortal das ComunidadesUlkoministeriö (um.fi): the rules can change.

Visit Japan Web: declarations before arrival

Visit Japan Web is the online service of the Japanese government's Digital Agency. It handles the immigration and customs formalities before arrival and, on departure, the tax-free shopping procedure.

You register your passport and trip, then complete the immigration and customs declarations before your flight. Whatever is done at home no longer needs doing at the airport at the end of a long flight.

On departure, Visit Japan Web is also used for tax-free shopping: at Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha airports, the customs step for the tax refund on purchases can be done on it before the security check. The guide Money in Japan explains the rules.

Medicines: what you can bring without formalities

This is the point that needs most care. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) sets the quantities a traveller may bring for personal use without permission:

Beyond these amounts you need an import confirmation, called Yunyu Kakunin-sho (formerly Yakkan Shōmei). It is applied for online on the MHLW website, in service since 1 February 2023, and issued by the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare after review. The ministry asks you to have it before you leave home and to show it to the customs officer on arrival. For a three-week trip with a daily treatment, the one-month rule is enough; for a longer stay or a reserve supply, apply well before departure to allow time for the review.

Keeping medicines in their original packaging, with the prescription, makes the check easier.

Banned products and products needing permission

Japan classes some substances commonly prescribed in Europe as narcotics or "stimulants' raw materials". The MHLW cites morphine, fentanyl and lisdexamfetamine, prescribed for attention deficit disorder. Importing them is strictly prohibited, except for a patient who has obtained permission from the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare before departure, for the prescribed quantities. Some substances cannot be brought in under any circumstances.

The risk also comes from products sold without prescription. According to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Japan's stimulants law bans Vicks inhalers, some allergy and sinus medicines, cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine and some over-the-counter painkillers containing codeine. Foreign nationals have been detained and deported for bringing them in. Before packing, check the ingredients of every box, cold and allergy remedies included, and buy anything doubtful from a pharmacy in Japan.

Customs: what you can bring in

Japanese customs allow each non-resident adult, duty free:

Cash and other means of payment above 1,000,000 ¥ (about 5,639 €), or the equivalent in foreign currency, must be declared, as must gold bullion above 1 kg. Banned imports include narcotics, cannabis among them, firearms and ammunition, explosives, counterfeit money and forged cards, counterfeit goods and obscene material.

Departure tax

Since 1 July 2026, every traveller pays 3,000 ¥ (about 17 €) on each departure from Japan under the International Tourist Tax. It is generally included in the air fare, so there is nothing to pay at the airport.

JESTA: the electronic authorisation to come

Japan is preparing an electronic travel authorisation, JESTA (Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization), similar to the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) of the United States. The government approved the bill amending the immigration law on 10 March 2026, and the law was passed in May 2026. Visa-exempt travellers will have to declare their identity and the purpose of their trip online before departure, and airlines will have to refuse boarding to passengers without authorisation. The launch is planned during Japan's 2028 fiscal year, which runs from April 2028 to March 2029. As of 30 October 2026, no precise date and no fee have been published. JESTA is not required for a trip in 2027.

Before you go: the checklist

• A valid passport for every traveller, children included, according to your country's rule.
• A Visit Japan Web account set up and the declarations completed before the flight.
• Medicines checked one by one, in their packaging, with the prescription; an import confirmation beyond one month's supply.
• Your driving licence and its translation or international driving permit, if your country's table mentions it and your route includes a car.

For the rest of the trip, the Japan page presents the regions and seasons, and the guide Trains in Japan explains the Japan Rail Pass, sold only to visitors on a temporary stay.