I’m moving to japan tomorrow for a 6 month exchange. I just found out today that i need an import certificate to bring the BC into japan.
Ive also read conflicting statements about what could happen if i bring them to Japan without the certificate. From them just confiscating the pills untill i get the certificate, to detaining me for several days/weeks.
What should i do in this situation?
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**Birth control without import certificate**
I’m moving to japan tomorrow for a 6 month exchange. I just found out today that i need an import certificate to bring the BC into japan.
Ive also read conflicting statements about what could happen if i bring them to Japan without the certificate. From them just confiscating the pills untill i get the certificate, to detaining me for several days/weeks.
What should i do in this situation?
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>What should i do in this situation?
Get the import certificate.
It sounds like it is too late for you to go through the Yunyu Kakunin-sho process properly. It is ideal to do this as soon as you get your plane tickets, but what’s done is done.
I still highly recommend contacting the appropriate department ASAP with ALL of the information (or as much as you can gather).
Contact for Drugs, Quasi drugs, Cosmetics and Medical devices
Kanto-Shin’etsu Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare TEL: +81-48-740-0800
e-mail: yakkan@mhlw.go.jp
(Place of arrival: Narita international Airport, Tokyo International Airport, etc.)
Kinki Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare TEL: +81-6-6942-4096
e-mail: kiyakuji@mhlw.go.jp
(Place of arrival: Kansai International Airport, Chubu Centrair, Naha Airport, etc.)
Information in English can be found [here](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html).
If you can fill out the paperwork and send it to them NOW, it may be possible that they reply to you before your flight. I also recommend contacting the Japanese embassy that serves your region to ask what the best pathway forward is in the event that the relevant bureau of regional health and welfare can’t get back to you on time.
It also seems like it’s possible to go through the Yunyu Kakunin-sho process if you are mailing medication to Japan. I also recommend looking into this, seeing if you can only bring a one-month supply into Japan and try to get all of the rest of the Yunyu kakunin-sho paperwork done correctly so that you can get the rest of your birth control mailed to you within that first month or so by your family or something. I’m not sure what would happen if you were caught taking all 6 months worth in. People have done it but I wouldn’t advise it. Maybe they’d care, maybe they wouldn’t, but I don’t think it would be smart to do it. The potential penalties almost certainly outweigh the benefits. Try to get written confirmation of *something* by one of the authorities that were listed above before leaving. In the future, please know that Japan can be quite strict about these things, so please try to manage them ahead of time if you return. I wish you all the best!
Can’t you buy them in Japan?
This is something you should have investigated ***long*** ago. But that’s the past, and this is now…
You’re not going to be able to get the import certificate before tomorrow. They’re usually fairly quick at turning them around but… It’s Saturday. Ain’t happening.
The only *legal* way to do this is to take a single month’s worth of the pills with you. Once you’ve arrived you have 2 options:
1. Get a prescription here. It’s fairly simple, but you might end up with a different medication/formulation than you’re used to.
2. Have someone ship the rest once you’ve settled in and had time to get the proper import certificate.
my partner just walks into a nearby 女性クリニック and picks up a months worth for 2000円? She never needed a script.. though I suppose maybe it just depends where you go.
I‘d take a single month with me and then go to a random clinic. Its really easy to do and they give you the BC really fast