United States
Japan
Pet Relocation From the USA to Japan
Japan treats the U.S. mainland as a non-designated region, which means the longest procedure it has: two rabies shots, a titer test at a designated lab, and at least 180 days between the blood draw and arrival. We build the calendar backward from your move date and coordinate every step.
At a glance
Rules on this page apply to: dogs and cats.
- Microchip
- ISO 11784/11785, 15 digits, implanted on or before the first rabies shot.
- Rabies shots
- At least two: the first at 91 days old or later, the second at least 30 days after.
- Titer test
- 0.5 IU/ml or higher at a MAFF-designated lab; the only civilian U.S. lab is Kansas State.
- Waiting period
- Arrival at least 180 days after the blood draw.
- Advance notice
- To Japan's Animal Quarantine Service at least 40 days before arrival.
- Lead time
- About seven months for a pet starting from scratch.
Who this guide is for
Families moving from the U.S. mainland or Alaska to Japan with a dog or cat: corporate transferees, military families on PCS orders, Japanese nationals returning home, and anyone starting a new chapter in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka or Okinawa.
If your pet lives in Hawaii or Guam, Japan treats you differently (see the timeline section). If your dog is coming back to the U.S. later, read our Japan to USA route too, because some choices you make now matter on the way home.
What we coordinate on this route
Yunifly plans the move, prepares and checks the documents, and arranges the flight. Physical steps such as ground transport and arrival help are handled through local partners where available.
- A dated plan that works backward from your arrival date, with the earliest date Japan can accept your pet
- Microchip, vaccine and blood-draw timing with your veterinarian, including the Kansas State lab submission
- The 40-day advance notification to the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS)
- Japan's Form AC health certificate, reviewed line by line before your USDA-accredited veterinarian submits it for APHIS endorsement
- Airline, aircraft and travel mode for your pet's size and breed, and the booking
- Crate sizing and preparation (choosing an IATA travel crate)
- Arrival at a Japanese port that accepts dogs, and onward coordination through local partners where available
Moving to Japan with a pet?
Get My Free Quote (opens the enquiry form in a new tab)Dogs and cats
Japan's rules for dogs and cats from non-designated regions are the same for the microchip, rabies vaccinations, titer test, waiting period and advance notice. Two differences matter in practice:
- Dogs must arrive through one of 19 designated ports. Cats arriving at another port need prior contact with AQS.
- The pre-departure clinical exam checks dogs for signs of leptospirosis as well as rabies; cats are checked for rabies.
After arrival, dogs must be registered with your city or town within 30 days and vaccinated against rabies every year in Japan. That obligation does not apply to cats.
How long it takes
For an adult pet with no Japan-compliant history, the critical path looks like this:
- Microchip, then the first rabies shot (same day is fine).
- Second rabies shot at least 30 days later.
- Blood draw for the titer test (it can be the same day as the second shot).
- At least 180 days from the draw to arrival. The draw date counts as day zero.
- Advance notice at least 40 days before arrival, health exam within 10 days of boarding, APHIS endorsement.
That adds up to roughly seven months. A puppy or kitten cannot get its first valid shot before 91 days of age, so it will be close to ten months old before it can land in Japan from the mainland.
From Hawaii or Guam
Japan lists Hawaii and Guam as designated (rabies-free) regions. A pet that has lived there since birth, for at least 180 days before export, or since it arrived directly from Japan follows a short process: ISO microchip, Form AB certificate, 40-day notice and a clinical exam. The MAFF page for designated regions does not list a rabies vaccination or titer requirement. Routing through a non-designated region requires a sealed crate and an extra transport certificate, so a direct flight is far simpler.
If your report date or job start is less than seven months away, the usual answer is for your pet to follow later. We plan the boarding or family stay in the U.S. and the second flight together.
Microchip
The chip must meet ISO 11784/11785 (15 digits, all numeric) and be implanted before or on the same day as the first rabies vaccination. A shot given before the chip does not count, which is the most common reason a Japan timeline restarts.
AQS is not accepting numbers starting with "900 202" for now. In a December 19, 2025 notice it also flagged duplicate numbers among some "900" chips (examples include 900113, 900115, 900128, 900201, 900215, 900217 and 900263) and asks owners with such chips to contact AQS once the arrival date is set. We check your pet's chip number at the first step.
Rabies vaccinations
Japan requires at least two rabies shots after the microchip:
- The first at 91 days of age or older. Shots given earlier are invalid.
- The second at least 30 days after the first and within the first shot's effective period.
- Inactivated (killed) or recombinant vaccines only. RNA vaccines and live-virus vaccines used outside Japan are not accepted.
Arrival must fall within the current vaccine's validity. If it would expire first, a booster is needed before it lapses; a shot given after a lapse does not count as a booster. We confirm with AQS how a U.S. three-year vaccine label is read for your pet's dates.
Rabies titer test
After the second shot, your veterinarian draws blood for a rabies antibody test. The result must be 0.5 IU/ml or higher, and it is valid for two years from the draw date.
The lab must be on Japan's designated list. In the United States that list has two labs: the Kansas State University Rabies Laboratory, and the U.S. Army Public Health Command lab in Texas, which Japan marks "available for U.S. Forces personnel only." A result from another U.S. lab, even one that other countries accept, does not count for Japan and means a new draw and a new 180 days.
Import permit and advance notice
Japan does not issue an import permit for dogs and cats; the advance notification replaces it. It must reach the AQS office at your arrival port at least 40 days before arrival, through NACCS (Japan's online system) or by e-mail form. Late notices are not accepted in principle.
Once filed, the arrival date cannot be moved earlier, and animals cannot be added or swapped. Military families: Yokota's installation guidance states the notice is mandatory even on the AMC rotator.
Health certificate
Japan recommends Form AC, which combines the owner's declaration and the veterinary certificate. APHIS also allows Form A with Form C, or APHIS Form 7001 with Form A. A USDA-accredited veterinarian completes it after a clinical exam within 10 days before boarding, confirming no signs of rabies (and, for dogs, leptospirosis).
Japan also recommends, but does not require, certain other vaccines and parasite treatments. No pencil, erasable ink or correction fluid on the certificate.
USDA APHIS endorsement
The accredited veterinarian submits the certificate through VEHCS, APHIS's online system, and APHIS endorses it digitally. Japan accepts electronic certificates from the United States, and APHIS states that a printed copy of the endorsed certificate must travel with the pet.
APHIS charges an endorsement fee: $101 per certificate when no lab tests are listed, $160 when one or two tests are listed, with higher tiers for more tests. Your veterinarian's fees are separate. We confirm with APHIS which tier applies to a certificate that includes the titer result.
Active-duty service members can use a military veterinarian's certificate without APHIS endorsement; retirees need APHIS endorsement.
Airline
Airline rules decide more of the plan than most families expect. Which carriers take pets, in which mode, on which aircraft and in which season changes often, and snub-nosed breeds face extra limits on many airlines.
As one example, Delta's pet page (read October 29, 2026) does not list Japan among the countries closed to cabin pets, charges $200 each way for international cabin pets, and allows no pets in Delta One or Premium cabins. A cabin pet must still fit the airline's size and kennel limits.
For any other airline we confirm the carrier, aircraft and mode for your pet directly before booking. See snub-nosed breeds and flying if your dog or cat has a short muzzle.
Cabin, checked baggage or cargo
There are three ways a pet can fly: in the cabin under the seat, as checked baggage in the hold, or as manifest cargo. Cabin travel is only possible for small pets on airlines and cabins that allow it; it is never a given. Larger dogs travel in the hold or as cargo in an approved crate.
Japan's rules are the same whatever the mode, but the mode changes the booking, the crate and the arrival process. We explain the difference in cabin, checked or cargo and choose with you based on size, breed, season and route.
Arrival in Japan
Dogs must arrive at a designated port. The 11 airports are New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Osaka (Itami), Kobe, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Naha. Cats arriving elsewhere need prior contact with AQS.
On arrival, you (or your representative) present the pet and the original documents to AQS for the import inspection. Keep the import quarantine certificate: it cannot be reissued, and dogs need it to register with the municipality within 30 days.
Quarantine
A pet that meets every requirement goes through the import inspection without a set quarantine period. A pet that does not (an early arrival, a missing shot, a certificate error, an unlisted lab) can be detained for up to 180 days at the owner's cost, or sent back.
Quarantine in Japan is avoidable only when every date and document is right. An arrival even one day short of 180 days is detained for the missing days.
What drives the cost
We quote each move individually. The main factors:
- Your veterinarian's fees for the chip, two shots, the exam and the certificate
- The Kansas State titer test and shipping the sample
- The APHIS endorsement fee (from $101 per certificate; higher when tests are listed)
- The airline charge, which depends on mode, crate size and route
- The crate, and any boarding if your pet follows you later
- Ground transport and arrival help through local partners where available
More detail in pet relocation costs between the USA and Asia.
Mistakes we see on this route
- Shot before chip. The rabies sequence must restart after a compliant chip.
- Wrong lab. Titers from labs not on Japan's list are rejected, even if Taiwan or Hawaii accept them.
- Booking the flight before the 180 days. An early arrival means detention for the shortfall.
- Missing the 40-day notice or trying to move the arrival date earlier after filing.
- Letting a vaccine lapse between the shots and arrival.
- Assuming cabin travel. Many pets cannot fly in the cabin on transpacific routes.
Questions about this route
Can my pet skip the 180-day wait?
Not from the U.S. mainland. The 180 days run from the titer blood draw. Pets that have lived in Hawaii or Guam long enough follow Japan's designated-region rules, which do not have this wait.
My dog's titer was done at another U.S. lab. Does it count?
Only if the lab is on Japan's designated list. For civilian pets in the U.S., that means Kansas State University. A result from another lab means a new draw and a new 180-day wait.
Is there quarantine when we land?
Not a set period if everything is compliant: the pet goes through an import inspection. Pets that miss a requirement can be detained for up to 180 days or returned.
Do cats follow the same rules as dogs?
Yes for the chip, shots, titer, wait and notice. Cats are more flexible on the arrival port (with prior contact), and they do not need municipal registration after arrival.
We're on PCS orders. Can we use the Patriot Express?
Military OneSource says pet spaces on the Patriot Express are limited and booked first come, first served, with reservations possible 90 to 120 days before departure. Japan's rules still apply in full. See our military relocation service.
Official sources
The requirements on this page come from these authorities.
- MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Import of dogs and cats from non-designated regions
- MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Import of dogs and cats from designated regions (Hawaii, Guam)
- MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Designated laboratories for the rabies antibody test (Japanese, updated August 4, 2026)
- MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — Pet import and export notices (Japanese; electronic certificates from the USA)
- USDA APHIS — Pet travel from the United States to Japan (modified July 30, 2025)
- USDA APHIS — Cost to endorse your pet's health certificate (modified June 18, 2026)
- Delta Air Lines — Pet travel overview
- Military OneSource — Moving with pets (Patriot Express pet spaces)
- MilitaryINSTALLATIONS — Yokota Air Base, shipping pets
Requirements last verified against these sources on .
Requirements change. Before anything is booked, we confirm each one again with the authorities, the airline and your veterinarian for your pet and your dates.
Going the other way?
Other destinations
Moving to Japan with a pet?
Send us your move date and your pet's records. We'll tell you the earliest date Japan can accept your pet and what has to happen before then.
Takes a few minutes. No account needed.