I plan to go back to the US for 3 months in December and come back here in early March. Can’t leave my cats for 3 months so I plan to take them with me. I know bringing them to the US isn’t much of a problem but what about bringing them back to Japan? Has anyone ever had issues? Do I have to get documents from a US vet before coming back?
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It’s a whole process and why I didn’t bring my cat when I moved to Japan, nevermind that I couldn’t find specific info. [USDA Website about it.](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/pettravel-japan)
This link outlines the whole process and processes/documents required: https://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/export.html
For the return:
*”Animal quarantine is necessary when returning to Japan even if you are only out of Japan for a short period (on holiday etc.) If the dogs or cats, before leaving Japan, has not had a microchip fitted, has not had confirmation of rabies antibody levels following rabies vaccinations (carried out after the microchip implantation), and has not received a certificate mantioned these treatments from an animal quarantine officer, the quarantine time upon return to Japan will be longer (up to 180 days), so please consult the Animal Quarantine Service in advance.”*
Like the other replies mention the biggest bottleneck is the rabies vaccinations. To be able to bring back your pets into JP from the US without any quarantine in March you need to have started the vaccination process back in about July.
I’m taking my cat back with me from Thailand, and found it was 1 month between doses and a couple weeks for blood testing. After blood testing you need to wait 6 months before being allowed back into JP to be able to enter without quarantine. Per cat it was around 30,000 yen all told for the vaccinations, testing and extra paperwork required for export approval, then 20,000+ for one cat one-way on the flight.
Depending on the carrier they have a limit as to how many pets you can bring with you as well. So I would be expecting something around 70, 000 per cat.