What you can't ship from Japan to United States

• Ruminant or swine milk, cream, secretions, or organs dispatched for pharmacological or biological purposes with authorization from USDA APHIS Veterinary Services → permitted

Documents: Authorization from Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture (for pharmacological or biological purposes)

• Smoked or dried meat NOT from a region with rinderpest/foot-and-mouth disease AND NOT salted and fully dried beef/pork/sheep/poultry meat or products — see conditional items column → may be conditionally permitted

• Permit obtained from the Permit Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, Federal Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782 → permitted

Documents: Permit from Permit Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, Federal Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782

• Salted and fully dried meat dispatched from regions affected by rinderpest or foot-and-mouth disease → Permitted only if accompanied by an official treatment certificate from the country of origin meeting the requirements of the destination country
• Salted and dried pork dispatched from regions affected by swine fever (hog cholera), vesicular exanthema, or African swine fever → Permitted only if consigned to a facility approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for further processing
• Meat and meat products from cattle, pigs, sheep, or poultry that are fully heat-treated to be shelf-stable without refrigeration and packed in hermetically sealed containers → Permitted for import

Documents: Official treatment certificate from the country of origin (required for salted and fully dried meat from rinderpest or foot-and-mouth disease affected regions)

• Buckwheat husks or charcoal used as packaging, free of soil and not previously used with living plants → permitted

• Dispatched from a region where rinderpest or foot-and-mouth disease is prevalent, or where swine fever or swine cholera is prevalent, and the item consists of non-edible hides, hair, bones, organs, or other parts of ruminants or pigs → Permitted only if processed in a manner approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Cleaned feathers without skin → permitted
• Imported for scientific or educational purposes → permitted
• Fishing flies (fly fishing lures) → permitted
• Certain bird feathers or skins for manufacturing fishing flies or ladies' hats, with Secretary of the Interior approval → permitted
• Feathered bird skins originating from countries with Newcastle disease outbreaks, consigned to a USDA-approved facility for additional processing → permitted
• Feathered bird skins not meeting any of the above exemptions → prohibited

Documents: Secretary of the Interior permit (for certain feathers or skins destined for fishing fly or ladies' hat manufacturing)

• Live adult honeybees shipped to USDA Agricultural Research Center, Bee Disease Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland 20705 for research purposes → permitted

• Dead insects and reptiles that are completely dried and packaged with preservation and pest-prevention measures applied → permitted

• Export inspection by plant protection station conducted and import permit from destination country's plant protection authority obtained where required → conditional
• Rice sent non-commercially for personal use → advance notification to regional agricultural policy bureau not required
• Rice sent for purposes other than non-commercial personal use → advance notification to regional agricultural policy bureau required

Documents: Export inspection certificate from plant protection station (植物防疫所による輸出検査証明); Import permit from destination country's plant protection authority (名宛国の輸入許可証); Advance notification to regional agricultural policy bureau (地方農政局等への届出) — required for rice unless sent non-commercially for personal use

• Soil sample bears a label issued by the Plant Quarantine Division of the destination country's Department of Agriculture → permitted

Documents: Label issued by the Plant Quarantine Division of the destination country's Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• FDA approval obtained, including for personal use → permitted

• Livestock serums, vaccines, similar products, and items that may transmit livestock diseases → Permitted only with prior authorization from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, Washington D.C. 20250

Documents: Authorization from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), Veterinary Services, Washington D.C. 20250

• Non-explosive artillery fuze components (不爆発性の大砲用信管原料) → permitted

• Pistols or other concealable weapons (shotguns with barrel length ≤ 45.72 cm, rifles with barrel length ≤ 40.64 cm, or shotguns/rifles with barrel length ≤ 66.04 cm or modified to be concealable), destined for military personnel, law enforcement/criminal investigation agency staff, government property guards, postal employees, firearms manufacturers, or firearms dealers, for official/public use; outer packaging marked 'FIREARM' in capital letters with recipient's qualification indicated; documentation certifying recipient's eligibility and a certificate from the relevant authority of the destination country regarding the intended use of the firearm attached to the mailpiece → permitted
• Firearms manufactured before 1898, shipped as antiques or works of art → permitted

Documents: Proof certifying that the recipient holds the requisite official qualification; Certificate issued by the relevant authority of the destination country (USA) attesting to the intended use of the firearm; Outer packaging must be labeled 'FIREARM' in capital letters and indicate the recipient's qualification (e.g., 'For Army Officer')

• Addressed to a person who has obtained permission from the relevant authorities of the destination country → permitted

• Shipment is insured AND declared value of contents does not exceed the insured (indemnity) amount → permitted
• Gold bullion or gold coins bear no mark of origin → may be refused import or confiscated by US authorities
• Gold originates from Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, or Sudan → prohibited

• Animal fighting (dogfighting, cockfighting, etc.) is permitted under the applicable state law of the destination state → permitted

• Meets requirements set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) → permitted
• Non-commercial person-to-person (C2C) gift — personal use or gift to family, with no resale or commercial purpose → CPSC condition does not apply; permitted

• Item meets CPSC-specified conditions (commercial shipments) → permitted
• Non-commercial gift or personal effects sent between private individuals (C2C), including gifts to family or items for personal use → permitted (exempt from CPSC requirement)

• Item meets CPSC (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) requirements → permitted
• Non-commercial person-to-person (C2C) shipment, such as a gift or personal effects from an overseas consumer to a U.S. consumer, with no resale or commercial purpose → permitted without CPSC requirement

• Meets conditions set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) → permitted
• Non-commercial person-to-person (C2C) gift, personal item, or gift sent from an overseas consumer to a consumer in the United States (not for resale or commercial purpose) → exempt from CPSC condition requirement

• Shipment meets CPSC (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) requirements → permitted
• Non-commercial consumer-to-consumer shipment (e.g., personal gift or personal effects from an overseas consumer to a U.S. consumer, for personal use or as a gift to family, not for resale or commercial purposes) → CPSC condition does not apply; permitted

• Placed in an inner container of suitable material wrapped with absorbent material, then placed in a thick glass outer container with absorbent packing, and finally enclosed in a sealed metal box → permitted