Crime
Inter-ministerial Cooperation
April 7, 2025
Towards the safety and security of foreign travelers to Japan and Japanese nationals who travel abroad
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs participates in the activities of the Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Drug Abuse with a view to strengthening public information and awareness-raising for foreign visitors and overseas travelers on the prohibition of the bringing of controlled drugs into Japan, while cross-border traveling is rapidly increasing and dynamic logistics for trading and tourism are becoming complex.
- (Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
- To prevent overseas travelers from getting involved in the drug offences related to cannabis-derived products abuse and trafficking, awareness-raising materials have been prepared to promote better understandings of harmful effects of cannabis, as well as the laws and regulations applied in Japan. The awareness-raising materials have been distributed to overseas travelers at international airports, and alert messages have been disseminated through websites and social networking services(SNS), in collaboration with relevant domestic ministries and agencies.
- To prevent from bringing controlled drugs into Japan without full understanding of the drug regulations in Japan, the relevant ministries and agencies prepared public information and awareness-raising materials (leaflets in English and other languages) for prevention of drug smuggling particularly for foreigners visiting Japan. Such materials have been posted on the websites of the relevant ministries and agencies, to disseminate relevant health educational, regulatory information in multilingual forms as listed below.
English brochure for foreign visitors to Japan (National Police Agency website)
- Drug control regulations in Japan (327KB) (PDF)
- Don't be a drug mule! (275KB) (PDF)
- Laws and regulations on cannabis in Japan (330KB) (PDF)
- Regulation of dangerous drugs in Japan (264KB) (PDF)
- Advance permission to bring prescribed opioids into Japan (199KB) (PDF)