Paris to Tokyo is not a book-it-next-month route. Japan runs one of the strictest import protocols on the planet — rabies titer, a fixed waiting window, advance notification to the arrival airport — and it starts months out. I've shipped Koda cargo across three continents, and this is the one route where the calendar matters more than the crate. Get the timeline wrong here and no crate size on earth saves you.
Flying with a pet from France to France to Japan bundles two sets of rules: the destination's import requirements, and each airline's pet-travel policy on the route. This page combines them so you can plan one consistent timeline.
Flying with your pet from France to Japan
Japan import requirements
What you need to bring a pet to Japan
Timing chain
Day -90 microchip implant · Day -180 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -10 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs
Conditional requirements
These rules apply only to pets with a specific travel history. Most travelers can ignore them — but if one applies to you, skipping it can mean denied entry.
Pet arriving from a non-designated (non-rabies-free) region — If your pet has been in one of 124 higher-risk countries in the last 6 months:
- Rabies titer (blood) test: FAVN test ≥ 0.5 IU/ml at MAFF-approved lab. Blood drawn ≥30 days after vaccination.
- Permit: Advance notification form (Form A) must be submitted to the Animal Quarantine Service at least 40 days before arrival.
- Quarantine: 180-day wait from date of blood draw for titer test. If wait period is not completed before arrival, the pet is quarantined at the airport facility for the remaining days (at owner's expense).
Ports of entry
New Chitose airportNarita international airportHaneda airportChubu International airportKansai International airportOsaka Itami airportKobe airportKitakyusyu airportFukuoka airportKagoshima airportNaha airport
Frequently asked
- What if my flight is delayed past my health certificate validity?
- If the certificate window expires before you board, you'll need a re-issue. Build a 1-2 day buffer between the cert date and departure to absorb minor delays.
- What happens if I forget a document?
- At the destination airport: at best, an extended inspection while you produce backup; at worst, the pet is held in quarantine or returned to origin at your cost. Bring printed copies.
Big-dog owners fixate on crate dimensions, and those matter — but on this corridor the paperwork clock is the real gatekeeper. Miss the titer-to-travel window and you're not flying, full stop. Map every date first, then solve the crate second. Drop your dog's weight and your target month into Pawgo's plan-builder and let it lay out the sequence. One accurate plan is worth more than fourteen trips of hard-won experience.
Glossary
- ISO chip
- ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
- FAVN
- Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
- Brachycephalic
- Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
- AVIH
- Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.