Japan - Import Dogs and Cats (Pet Passport)

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Procedure

Dogs and cats coming from designated regions:

1. Microchip implanting: Dogs and cats must be implanted with a microchip. The microchip should comply with ISO 11784 and 11785 (15 digit microchip code consists only of numbers). As the owner make sure the microchip number can be read by a microchip reader at veterinary hospitals.
   In case your pets' microchip is not up to ISO's standards, you should contact Animal Quarantine Service at the expected port of entry. If the Animal Quarantine Service's microchip reader cannot read the non-ISO microchip, you need to prepare a reader which can read it.
2. Your dogs or cats must fulfill at least one of the following three conditions:
   1. The dog or cat has been continuously resident in a designated region since birth.
   2. The dog or cat has been continuously resident in a designated region for at least 180 days immediately before export to Japan.
   3. The dog or cat has been continuously resident in a designated region since being directly imported from Japan.
3. If none of the above three conditions is fulfilled and the dog or cat has been continuously resident in a designated region for less than 180 days, it must be subject to detention quarantine upon arrival in Japan to compensate for the insufficient days (180 days minus the days when it was kept in a designated region).
4. Notify Animal Quarantine Service: You must notify Animal Quarantine Service at the expected port of entry not less than 40 days before the dogs/cats arrives in Japan. A link for the notification forms is provided under 'Documents to Use' section. You can submit the notification form by mail, fax, or e-mail.
5. Clinical inspection before departure (pre-export inspection).
6. Obtain certificates from government agency of the exporting country.
7. Transporting the dogs and cats: Dogs and cats should be transported by direct flight/ship from the exporting country (designated region) to Japan.
   If transported through Non-designated regions (transit), a seal for the transport cage or an additional certificate on transportation (ANNEX) is necessary.
8. Regulations:
   1. A veterinary officer of the government agency of the exporting country must seal the cage by a sealing instrument called seal. The seal number must be stated on the certificate issued by the government agency of the exporting country.
   2. Obtain additional certificate on transportation ?ANNEX). Ensure that dogs and cats do not come into contact with other animals during transportation (dogs and cats cannot be out of the transport cages). As proof, you must obtain an additional certificate on transportation (ANNEX) from animal quarantine agency or from Customs at the transit ports, airlines/shipping lines, or captains.

Flow chart for dogs and cats coming from other regions - Link

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Required Documents

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e.g.
1. Proof of child birth from the Hospital.

Office Locations & Contacts

Animal Quarantine Service

Head office
Yokohama Head Office
Address: 11-1, Hara-machi, Isogo-ku,
Yokohama-city, Kanagawa, 235-0008
Phone: 81-45-751-5921
FAX: 81-45-754-1729

Animal Quarantine Service in AIRPORTS / SEAPORTS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
2-2-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 100-8919, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)3-3580-3311
Japanese Embassies, Consulates and Permanent Missions

Eligibility

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Fees

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Validity

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e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Notification Forms

Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

Import procedures vary depending on which region abroad the dogs and cats are coming from.

Designated regions: Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands, Hawaii, and Guam), the animals must meet import requirements (e.g. microchip implanting, etc.).

Required Information

A list which displays the kind of information which is required to complete the procedure.
e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or County of Birth.

Need for the Document

This procedure provides you information on how to bring your dogs/cats from abroad to Japan.

Information which might help

Quarantine for imported dogs and cats:

• Imported dogs and cats must undergo import quarantine inspection.
• If the animals meet import requirements upon arrival in Japan, the quarantine period will be within 12 hours.
• On the other hand, animals that do not meet the requirements will be quarantined at a detention facility of Animal Quarantine Service for the necessary period (up to 180 days).
• Based on the results of inspection, the dog or cat cannot be allowed to enter Japan.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Animal Quarantine Service

Others

More information which might help people.