I had come across an old post about travel to Japan, but I did not see any definite ansers on whether or not I would need something called a yakkan shoumei. I will be going for 4 months and plan to take all my supplies with me.I printed the form out and showed it to my doctor. He said he had never heard anything about it before. Overall I am just worried that I might wind up getting my insulin and supplies confiscated.
Any help would be great. Ive attached the forms in case anyone wants to have a look.
6863-Medication20import20request20forms.pdf (87.4 KB)
6864-Import20Instructions.pdf (32.9 KB)
6865-Medications20QA.pdf (50 KB)
hi,
I grew up in japan and have never had any trouble carrying years worth of supplies into Tokyo. I sometimes carry a note from a doctor just in case but like i said ive never had any trouble in security or customs. There was one time that we had a suitcase with $5000 dollars of supplies we would need for my sister and i for the next two years (we were coming from Canada) guess which bag got stuck in Chicago. fortunately my parents had planned ahead and we had enough supplies to last us a couple days while the rest of our luggage was sorted out.
I went to Japan in June 2008 for three weeks. I didn’t have any special forms filled out or a yakken shoumei…in fact, I didn’t even know about it. No problems whatsoever getting through customs or security. Overall the more I travel I find that diabetes is really common and people in airports are used to dealing with it, even in a country like Japan where diabetes is less common.
Let me know if you have any other questions. And have a great trip! I miss it there.
By the way, just remembered that my profile photo is from my trip to Japan! A garden in Kyoto by Shigemori. One of my favorites that I visited. I recommend seeing while you are there.
Wow, thanks your input has been quite helpful, BTW is insulin, pump supplies, etc. available in Japan?
I may look into the Jet program if everything goes well.
Thanks, it seems like there shouldn’t be much to worry about. That’s quite the garden. I should hopefullty be able to check it out since ill be close to kyoto.
The US embassy in Tokyo has the following information:
http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-medimport.html
But my personal understanding is that Yakkan Shoumei is for those who are “importing” medications into Japan, and only when the medication has not been approved yet in Japan but is needed for a personal use (prescription required). I recommend you to bring a copy of your prescription along with its Japanese translation with you and your supplies. If you can contact your travel insurance and/or your health insurance company in advance, make sure that they know that you are bringing in that much supplies as well.
As for the pumps, MM is approved and used mainly. Medtronic has its own local offices throughout Japan as well. Humalog, Novolog, Apidra, Lantus…they all are available also.
Additional information here including the forms in/with English (finally) - hope that helps!
http://www.melbourne.au.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/pdf/MEDICINE%20APPLICA…
http://www.chicago.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JIC/JET/documents.html
Yea, thanks im still not really sure if i need it though. If I do would i have to include insulin and all supplies on these forms?
Yes, I am afraid you need to include EVERYTHING with the detailed information - manufacturer, size, etc. For insulin I am pretty sure that you also need to add whether it is in a vial, a pen cartridge, etc. If you can attach a copy of the product information that might do, too.