Visiting Japan
Planning to visit Japan with your guide dog?
If you are planning to visit Japan with your guide dog, and if you are a graduate of a member organization of the International Guide Dog Federation, Japan Guide Dog Association is ready to provide you on your entry into Japan with a Temporary Certificate of Overseas Guide Dog Users valid only in Japan for a limited period of time, so that you will be ensured the access right to travel in Japan with your guide dog.
Please contact us through the organization you graduated from at least 6 weeks before your arrival. After receiving the documents, we will review them, interview the guide dog user (online is also acceptable), and send the certificate by mail. The process takes time, so please apply well in advance.
As for quarantine, we are not able to take any responsibility. We would like you to go through the required procedures on your own. For information on quarantine, please refer to the Animal Quarantine Service of the Ministry of Agriculture (Japanese Quarantine System for Dogs and Cats).
Please note that if you are coming from a non-designated rabies country (other than Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands, Hawaii, or Guam), you will need more than 6 months' notice to meet the requirements.
The papers you need to submit for a Temporary Certificate are as follows:
- 1. Form 1 - Application for Temporary Certificate of Overseas Assistance Dog Users.
- 2. A photo of you and your guide dog together
- 3. Approval of Import Inspection of Animals (Animal Quarantine Service)
- 4. If you are coming from EEA or the UK, please read the JGDA Privacy Policy, sign and submit the Consent Form.
Do you know why you need a Temporary Certificate?
People living in Japan with guide dogs, hearing dogs, or mobility service dogs are ensured their access rights under the Law concerning Assistance Dogs for People with Physical Disabilities, which was put into full enforcement on October 1, 2003. Although it is a significant law enacted after years of effort, it excludes foreign-trained dogs from its definition of assistance dogs.
The law says a guide dog must be a dog which has received proper training at one of the guide dog organizations designated by the National Public Safety Commission, and that a guide dog user must always carry a certificate and put on his or her dog a tag showing it is a guide dog.
In order to secure the access rights of a guide dog trained in a foreign country to public transportation, private facilities such as hotels, restaurants, stores, and other public facilities, a Temporary Certificate officially approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is required.
JGDA does not accept applications for assistance dogs other than guide dogs.
Please see the link below for details: Assistance Dogs for Persons with Physical Disabilities