Taking your pet to Japan: the 180 days that set your departure date
Japan doesn't count the Netherlands among the rabies-free countries, and that means a fixed chain: chip, two rabies vaccinations, a titre test — and then 180 days of waiting, counted from the blood sample. Whoever starts too late pays the difference in quarantine days. This is the step you plan *first*, even before your own departure date.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, your dog or cat may come to Japan, but not at short notice.
Three things to know in advance:
- Japan applies a waiting period of 180 days to animals from the Netherlands.
- That clock does not start with your application but with the blood sample for the titre test, the blood test that shows the rabies vaccination works.
- If the animal arrives too early, it goes into quarantine, and the cost of that is yours.
Count back from your desired moving date and you see the problem. Whoever arranges the animal only once the job is settled leaves without it, or pays the difference in quarantine days.
Why is Japan so strict for animals from the Netherlands?
Japan is itself rabies-free and wants to stay that way. Only animals from a handful of designated regions may enter with a shortened procedure: Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and Guam. The Netherlands is not on that list, so the full procedure of the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS), the quarantine office of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, applies.
Which steps, in which order?
The order is fixed: what happens in the wrong order does not count.
| Step | Requirement | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Microchip | ISO 11784/11785, 15 digits | before the first vaccination |
| 2. First rabies vaccination | after chipping (same day allowed) | the animal is at least 91 days old |
| 3. Second rabies vaccination | within the effective period of the first | at least 30 days after the first |
| 4. Blood sample for the titre test | at a designated laboratory, result at least 0.5 IU/ml | after the second vaccination (same day allowed) |
| 5. Waiting period | arrival only after 180 days | counted from the blood sample |
| 6. Notification to the AQS | with flight details, online or by e-mail | at least 40 days before arrival |
| 7. Clinical inspection | free of rabies, for dogs also of leptospirosis | within 10 days before departure |
| 8. Government certificate | issued or endorsed by the government of the exporting country | before departure |
Three details often go wrong in practice:
- Japan does not accept live or RNA vaccines against rabies. Ask your vet which type they use.
- A vaccination that expires before you arrive must be repeated within its effective period. If it has already lapsed, the chain starts again at the first vaccination.
- The titre result is valid for two years from the blood sample. Whoever travels later than planned sometimes needs a new test. But you do not have to wait the 180 days again as long as the vaccinations have remained continuous.
What happens if you arrive too early?
Too early means quarantine at your expense. If the animal arrives before the 180 days have passed, it goes to a quarantine facility for the remaining days. If something in the certificates is wrong, that can run up to 180 days, or the animal is sent back. Care, food and all costs are for the owner; at Narita, Haneda and Kansai you can outsource that care to a company.
The AQS therefore strongly recommends completing the waiting period before arrival. Also mind the airport: dogs may only enter Japan through designated airports and seaports.
And you cannot simply change the notification afterwards. An earlier arrival date, an extra animal or a different animal is in principle no longer accepted by the AQS. If the quarantine facility is full, the AQS may ask you to choose another date or airport.
What do you arrange on the Dutch side?
The Japanese certificates must come from the government of the exporting country. In the Netherlands that is the NVWA (the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority). In the NVWA's Export assistant you can see whether there are agreements and an instruction for the country.
In many cases an NVWA vet visits you to check whether the animal meets the requirements. If all is in order, you receive the certificate.
If documents need to be legalised (officially authenticated), you make an appointment at the NVWA office in Utrecht. You request it at least 14 working days in advance by e-mail. Incomplete documents are not legalised.
How do you plan it?
Start with the animal, not with yourself:
- chip and first vaccination can happen today;
- the second vaccination after at least thirty days;
- the blood sample as soon as that is done.
That fixes your pet's earliest possible travel date, more than half a year away. You plan the rest of the move around it.
Many families therefore have the animal come over a little later than themselves. Or they turn it around: first the titre test, then apply for jobs. Both work, as long as the order within the chain is right. What else travels with the move is in your household goods to Japan.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Japan.
What is due when?
Enter your departure date and see day by day what your dog or cat needs for Japan, from microchip to certificate.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- MAFF Animal Quarantine Service — import from non-designated countries — maff.go.jp
- MAFF — the designated (rabies-free) regions, the Netherlands is missing — maff.go.jp
- MAFF — guide to importing dogs and cats (pdf) — maff.go.jp
- NVWA — taking your pet to a country outside the EU (Export assistant, inspection by an NVWA vet) — nvwa.nl
- NVWA — legalisation of travel documents, appointment at least 14 working days ahead — nvwa.nl
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