Can you bring oxycodone to Japan?

• Narcotic medication

  depends on specifics

  Japan classes oxycodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, tapentadol and GHB (sodium oxybate, sold as Xyrem, Xywav and Lumryz) as narcotics. You can bring them for your own treatment only with an import certificate from the Narcotics Control Department, applied for before you travel. Products with 1% or less codeine (or dihydrocodeine) are excluded from the narcotics list.

  NCD notes that tramadol is not a narcotic in Japan, so this certificate doesn't apply to it. Heroin and opium powder can't be brought in by any traveller, even with a prescription.

  Get an import certificate from Japan's Narcotics Control Department

  Who to apply to

  Narcotics Control Department (NCD), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

  When to apply

  Apply at least 14 days before you travel. NCD says its Tokyo office can't accept last-minute applications for any reason.

  What you'll need

  • The import application form from the NCD page. There are separate forms for narcotics and for stimulants' raw materials.
  • The export application form as well, if you'll leave Japan with leftover medicine. If you won't, say in your email that you don't need an export permit.
  • A medical certificate from the doctor who prescribed the medicine, issued within the last 3 months. It must give your name and current address, the specific reason you take the medicine, each medicine with its dose and strength, and the doctor's signature. NCD doesn't accept a reason like "for personal use" or "for travel".
  • Photos of your own medicine packages, showing the name and strength, as JPEG, PDF or Word files. NCD can't open HEIC photos.
  • Arriving at Haneda or Narita: also a driver's licence or utility bill confirming your address (not needed if the address is on the medical certificate). If you'll stay more than 90 days, also your visa, work contract or letter of acceptance.

  Steps

  1. Check your medicine's category on NCD's controlled substances list. This permit is for narcotics and stimulants' raw materials. Amphetamine (Adderall) and methamphetamine can't be brought in at all.
  2. Fill in the import form, and the export form if you're taking leftovers home. Give your arrival date as the time of entry. For the reason for departure, write "To return home" or "To go to another country", not "For vacation".
  3. Get the medical certificate from your prescribing doctor and photograph your medicine packages.
  4. Send everything by email, fax or post to the NCD office that covers your arrival airport. If your files are over 10 MB, split them across several emails, then send a short follow-up asking NCD to confirm it received them.
  5. Travel with the medicine and the import certificate NCD sends you.

  At the border: Show the import certificate to the customs officer. You must carry the medicine yourself: it can't be posted to Japan or carried for you by someone else, even family.

  Go to the official application page →

  Source Narcotics Control Department, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — Application Guidance (carrying medicine containing controlled substances)

  Source Narcotics Control Department — Attention for arrivals at Haneda or Narita

  Source Narcotics Control Department — office list with the airports each office coversProcedure checked 2026-10-14

  Also covers: narcotic medication, opioid painkiller, oxycodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, tapentadol, ghb, sodium oxybate, xyrem, xywav, lumryz

  Download border card (PDF)

  Source Narcotics Control Department, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — Application Guidance (carrying medicine containing controlled substances)Checked against the source on 2026-10-14

Check your specific trip →|All medication rules for Japan →

Informational only — not legal advice. Customs rules change; confirm with the official source above before you travel. Not medical advice. Don't stop or change a medicine because of a travel rule without talking to your doctor. See update history