How strict is Japan with Medications

[skurvish]

I have been reading about the requirement to submit a "Yunyu Kakunin-sho"  for approval prior to arrival in Japan. I happened upon it in our roll call, but this is the first and only time I have seen it. I have to imagine that the vast majority of folks will have never heard of it and hence show up without it.

 

What happens in these cases? Is Japan really strict about this or is it hit or miss?

 

Anyone have any experience?

 

Thanks.

[BruceMuzz]

While it is true that the Japanese Government is extremely strict about illegal drugs - and some legal ones as well - they are basically looking for drug traffickers.

Unless you are carrying large quantities of opiates or other serious drugs, the Japanese really do not want to talk to you.

In the nearly 40 years I have lived, worked, and travelled around Japan, I have never been asked for any documentation, and I have never heard of a tourist being asked for any documentation.

[skurvish]

Thanks Bruce. The procedure to submit the documentation is quite complicated and seems a lot of work. Fingers crossed then.

[Host Bonjour]

It sounds ominous (there's something similar for Australia) and truth be told, everywhere anyone should only ever be carrying their own prescribed and over the counter medications.

And if that's all you're traveling with, you'll encounter no problems whatsoever. I think this comes down to break downs in communication over time that have simply never been clarified. While it may be apparent to most of us that we would only ever carry what we need, inspectors are trained and know what to look for in situations where things aren't ordinary.

 

Enjoy your holiday.