Thank you for posting. I am planning a family trip to Japan in June and didn't realize this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These drugs are not legal in Japan, no exceptions.

How do they control pain when someone breaks their leg or has surgery?

In the hospital. Because they don’t release people the same day like they do here.

Anonymous wrote:These drugs are not legal in Japan, no exceptions.

How do they control pain when someone breaks their leg or has surgery?

I did not know any of this. Thank you for sharing

To those who are suggesting I not bring medication for my child- your opinions are not helpful. If you have anything helpful to contribute about the process of getting approval, that's great. Otherwise, please feel free to NOT say anything.

Honestly I wouldn’t bother bringing it, it’s a huge hassle. I brought my normal vitamins and they took those. If they decide they don’t like your paperwork you could actually end up in jail.
As an aside Japanese people think birth control pills cause health problems and it’s unnatural to flood your body with hormones. Are they wrong?

Anonymous wrote:The Japanese are clearly aware that Americans are the most drugged up nation on the planet, and their customs officers specifically search American travelers. I wasn’t checked at all, but I entered with an EU passport.

Well lucky you.

The Japanese are clearly aware that Americans are the most drugged up nation on the planet, and their customs officers specifically search American travelers. I wasn’t checked at all, but I entered with an EU passport.

My melatonin was confiscated when we went skiing in Niseko over the holidays.

Japan confiscated my naproxen

These drugs are not legal in Japan, no exceptions.

Anonymous wrote:Take it very seriously.

There was a US lady exec who moved to Japan to work for Toyota. She had her dad mail her her pain meds from back home and ended up going to jail because of it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/19/415728942/toyotas-top-female-executive-arrested-in-japan-on-drug-charges

We learned this the hard way when DD did a summer abroad in Japan and misplaced her birth control pills. Our pharmacist said it would be near impossible for him to arrange to have it filed there. I did just check: the the pill was not readily available the Today, it is but a prescription by a Japanese doctor is required and it’s unusual. 80% of Japanese women prefer condoms. So yes pay attention too. And get everything filled before you go

Take it very seriously.

There was a US lady exec who moved to Japan to work for Toyota. She had her dad mail her her pain meds from back home and ended up going to jail because of it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/19/415728942/toyotas-top-female-executive-arrested-in-japan-on-drug-charges

We did this a couple of years ago. Actually, we were just transiting through Tokyo on our way to another country but were advised to do the paperwork anyway.

As I recall, it was pretty straightforward. There was a form to fill out, I think, and my daughter’s doctor wrote a letter. Once we emailed everything, it didn’t take long to get approval.

We are going to Japan in a few weeks and I just found out that we need to obtain permission to bring my child's ADHD medication into the country.

Has anyone ever had to do this? I sent an email to an account I found on the embassy website, but wondering if anyone knows anything else I need to do to obtain the certificate (and quickly!).