My mother gave me cuttings of her Monstera to propagate in Japan. During the flight I realized I can’t just import plants (yeah yeah I know). Needless to say, I don’t have a Phytosanitary Certificate. The plant is now in the luggage on the way to Japan. Should I ask an immigration officer about how to proceed or should I secretly dispose off the plant after picking up my luggage? Thanks for your advice in advance.
4 comments
Just dispose of it before customs. They have bins for this kind of thing, so no need for secrecy.
Just go and ask the Animal Plant Quarantine desk at the airport after immigration/passport inspection and before customs.
If it’s not allowed in, they will dispose of it for you properly.
You will not get in trouble if you ask them, declare/show them what you have.
I did the same as you several years ago, but unfortunately my plant had bugs on it which weren’t visible when bagged up, but were very visible upon arriving in Japan.
But the plant quarantine/MAFF officers said it might have been allowable if there were no insects on on it.
This is the website to refer to:
https://www.maff.go.jp/pps/j/introduction/english.html
The big no-no is soil, this doesn’t apply to cuttings obviously but if one is importing a whole plant it has to be free from soil.
It’s best just to be open and upfront. Ask a customs agent after immigration inspection. They’ll either guide you through what needs to be done or they’ll dispose of it for you. Unless you try to sneak it in you won’t be in any sort of trouble.