TLDR: Have this website ready on your phone, because the immigration agent may not be familiar with this policy, so you may need to inform them that you’re allowed to bring your controlled substance into the country, since it’s within the allowed range.
https://www.ncd.mhlw.go.jp/en/application2.html#list
https://www.ncd.mhlw.go.jp/en/application2.html#psychotropics
I wanted to bring 40mg of Ativan/Lorazepam into Japan. Table 3 of the Psychotropics section says I can bring less than 90mg without having to seek approval. When doing “Visit Japan Web” I said Yes to the question of whether I’m bringing controlled substances into the country. As expected, I got redirected to another area when going through immigration.
Here is a snippet of my diary of the events from that day.
Went to do Immigration and got redirected to other counter due to controlled substance. He was gonna send me back to normal line but normal line told me to come here. After waiting for countless people to be let through the gate, (he also controlled a gate) he asked me if i got permission from japan. Luckily i printed out table 3, and had the japan website open to show him that amounts less than what is listed in table 3 do not require japan permission. It seems like he was unaware of this, and was expecting me to have gotten permission to bring this in. This took like 15 min standing with him. He eventually stickered my passport and let me through. Then I went to do customs and the QR scanning booth told me to go to the yellow lineup (due to controlled substance). So i went to see the next agent and explained all this stuff over again, immediately showing him the website and Table 3. This went much quicker because i had previously assumed the guys would know this, but this time just showed him the website immediately and he read it over and let me through.
6 comments
Thanks for posting this, very valuable information
Was this even necessary since “you don’t need a certificate written by your doctor nor the permission by authorities under the “Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law”?
Interesting. I was in Japan earlier this year. Brought Ativan as well though I keep it in a pill box with other things and not in the container with my name. I did have my Lexapro in actual prescription bottles though. Either way no one ever flagged it or stopped me, so I guess it just depends!
Good to be prepared with the website though
How did they know you had controlled medication? Did you need to declare it on the form on the plane? In the past when I’ve had controlled medication, even below the allowable limit without permission, I’ve just gotten the permission because I didn’t want any hassles lol.
Glad your experience was positive and you had no issues 🙂
Can I bring lexapro and Xanax for about two weeks in their respective prescription bottles with no issues?
Oh man— am I dumb? I thought if it was under the amount in the table you didn’t have to declare it. I double checked all my meds and the amount are under the limit by a lot but I definitely said “no” on bringing in controlled substances.