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Note: Flying My Cat to Japan

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Original language: Chinese . AI translations: English , Japanese .

I’m moving abroad, but my cat comes with me 😼

This is basically a chronological note of how I flew my cat to Japan. It’s been a bit too long, so I’ve forgotten quite a few details, so treat this as a rough log.

Research

When I decided to move abroad with my cat, I had vaguely heard that “taking pets abroad is complicated”, but I didn’t look into it carefully. I thought I could just check after my schedule was fixed.
But once the plan was mostly settled and I finally looked it up, I felt doomed: according to Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service, you need to start preparing at least 7 months in advance.
Luckily (sort of), my departure was delayed later, so I managed to finish the procedures and bring my cat over.

What You Need To Bring a Pet (Mostly Cats/Dogs) to Japan

Cats don’t have nationality. Unlike me, they don’t need visas wherever they go, which is kind of enviable. But most countries have strict quarantine rules. Fresh food, fruits/vegetables are usually not allowed in, and live animals are even more strictly controlled.
I needed a visa; my cat needed quarantine documents. Tie.

Looking back, the procedures for taking a pet abroad can roughly be split into three parts:

  1. Export quarantine documents
    This is the export quarantine certificate from the departure country. Departing from China means you need a health/quarantine certificate issued by China Customs.
    Without this paper, the airline won’t accept your pet for the flight.
    After arriving in Japan, Japanese quarantine will also check it to ensure the pet is healthy.

  2. Pet flight booking
    I really wish I could say “my cat is small, I can just carry it in a bag”, but unfortunately most airlines do not allow pets in the cabin (likely because of noise and smell affecting other passengers).
    So to bring a pet on the plane, you typically need to buy a pet cargo booking. The airline will place the pet in a dedicated live-animal compartment in the cargo hold, and provide oxygen during the flight to avoid high-altitude oxygen issues.
    Note that the number of live-animal compartments per flight is limited, maybe only 2-4. So you must call the airline in advance to ask whether your intended flight has an available slot.
    Only after confirming a slot should you book the ticket. After booking, call the airline again to reserve the pet slot. That’s when the pet booking is truly complete.
    Then on the day of the flight, you go to the airport and pay.

  3. Import quarantine documents
    The import quarantine documents required by the destination country, i.e. the set of documents Japan requires.
    For this part, you must carefully read the Animal Quarantine Service requirements, follow the official guide for all checks, and submit the documents to the Japanese quarantine office. If they approve, they issue an acceptance notice that effectively means your pet is allowed to enter Japan.

Although the order during travel is export quarantine >> pet booking >> import quarantine, the preparation order is the reverse:

  • Japan import quarantine needs to start at least half a year in advance. This is the most important part.
  • China export quarantine can be prepared 2 weeks before departure (and can only be done within those 2 weeks, because the documents are valid for at most about 2 weeks).
  • The pet booking depends on your schedule. Just consult the airline before booking and reserve the pet slot.

Japan Import Quarantine Procedures

For this part, the most authoritative resource is Japan’s official guide: 動物検疫所：犬、猫の日本への入国 （指定地域以外編）
Read the official steps carefully and prepare everything, otherwise you might land in Japan and get stuck at the airport. That would be a tragedy.

指定地域以外
Animal quarantine is mainly to prevent rabies import. Japan classifies other countries into designated regions (no rabies cases) and outside designated regions (rabies exists).
If you bring a pet from a designated region, the procedures are a bit more relaxed.
China is outside designated regions, so stricter quarantine steps apply.

The official guide is very detailed, easy to understand, and even has multiple language versions. So I probably don’t need to add anything. Ok, this post ends here.

According to this official diagram, the procedures for bringing a cat to Japan can be roughly split into 8 parts:

  • Step 1: Microchip
  • Step 2: Rabies vaccine (first shot)
  • Step 2: Rabies vaccine (second shot)
  • Step 3: Rabies antibody titer test (blood draw)
  • Step 4: Waiting period before entering Japan
  • Step 5: Submit an application at least 40 days before entry
  • Step 6: Pre-departure health check (in China)
  • Step 7: Obtain the certificate issued by China (Customs)
  • Step 8: Pet inspection after arriving in Japan

This post will follow the same order to record what I did.

Step 1: Microchip

Why a microchip

Japan requires a microchip so they can identify that your cat is this cat, not another one.
The chip contains a string of numbers (usually random). It’s injected under the skin around the neck area, and your cat effectively gets a portable ID card.
After arriving in Japan, the quarantine officer scans it with a reader, and can confirm the chip number matches the cat in your paperwork.

最近开始，日本为了减少宠物遗弃，要求宠物商店出售的宠物也必须植入芯片，这样抓到流浪猫流浪狗，扫一下如果有芯片，(也许)就能知道是谁家的了
还有，在日本，遗弃宠物属于犯罪行为，不要尝试哦

Recently, to reduce pet abandonment, Japan also requires pet shops to implant microchips into pets they sell. So if they catch a stray cat/dog, they can scan it and (maybe) find its owner.
Also, abandoning pets is a crime in Japan. Don’t try it.

Finding a clinic to implant the chip

The very first step was already hard. I live in a small tier-18 city, and after asking around many pet hospitals, they all said they had never heard of implanting microchips for pets going abroad, and they didn’t provide the service.
Hard beginnings are hard, but this was really hard..

So I had to compromise: buy a chip myself on Taobao, and find a clinic willing to help implant it.
After asking around again, large hospitals were afraid something might go wrong and refused. Eventually I found a small clinic; the vet said they could help implant the chip.

Buying the chip yourself

Open the all-powerful Taobao, search “pet microchip”, and you get a ton of results.


They look roughly like this.

看商品介绍，不止能给猫狗打，还能给鱼打，不知道是多贵的鱼，还需要打芯片去管理

According to product descriptions, you can implant them not only in cats and dogs, but also in fish. No idea what kind of expensive fish needs chip management.

A chip + injector set costs only 7-8 RMB, cheaper than shipping.
I picked a shop that looked ok, asked a couple questions, and ordered immediately because I was on a timeline.

Getting a vet to implant the chip

Once the chip arrived, I immediately took my cat (and the chip) to the clinic.
The vet looked at the shop’s simple instructions and examined the injector. The chip is hidden inside the needle; behind it there’s a small plastic plunger. You insert the needle under the skin on the cat’s neck, push the injector, and the plunger pushes the chip out.

After understanding it, we prepared to implant the chip: take the cat out, wipe the neck area with an alcohol swab for disinfection, lift the skin, insert needle, inject, pull out. Done in one go.
Pressed the wound for a bit; it seemed fine. I finally breathed out.

While chatting, the vet said: even though the chip I bought was the smallest size (1.25mm diameter), the needle is still much thicker than what they use daily, so the cat might bleed a bit more. Don’t worry; usually it’s fine.
The vet and nurse also praised my cat for being quiet and calm during the injection. But the truth is it was just too timid to move; at home it’s very much a jumping-around machine.

The package that came with the injector also included some barcode stickers.
The number on them is the chip ID. Once implanted, it becomes your cat’s “ID number”.
Keep the stickers somewhere safe, because it’s hard to memorize that number.

After the injection, we observed for a bit. No abnormalities. Retreat.

And my cat still had to get another shot that day.

Step 2: Rabies Vaccine (First Shot)

The first rabies shot can be given on the same day as the microchip.

Although my cat had received rabies vaccines before, (1) it’s been a while and Japan might not accept it; (2) when doing the rabies antibody titer test a month later, giving a shot in advance can increase antibody levels a bit and reduce the risk of failing the test.
Otherwise, if the test result is not qualified, you’ll need to draw blood again and re-test until you pass.

One antibody test costs around 2000 RMB, which is not small.
And it must be sent abroad for testing; round trip takes 2-3 months, which is a lot of time wasted.

For point (1): Japan generally does not accept rabies vaccination records from before the microchip was implanted. The official text is:
マイクロチップを埋め込む前に接種した狂犬病予防注射は無効ですが、条件付きで認められる場合があります。

So to be safe, I followed Japan’s official steps: get the first rabies shot on the same day as the microchip.

Nothing special here: go to a pet clinic and get the shot.
Then the vet sticks the vaccine label onto the vaccination booklet, signs and stamps it. Routine.

Step 2: Rabies Vaccine (Second Shot)

The second rabies shot must be at least 30 days after the first, and still within the first shot’s valid immunity period.
In China, rabies vaccine immunity is usually counted as 1 year. My cat used an imported vaccine that claims 3 years on the official website.

But in practice, Japan counts it as 1 year no matter whether it’s a Chinese or US vaccine.

In the later step of submit import application 40 days in advance, when I submitted vaccine records to Japan, I filled in the brand and validity. I wrote “3 years” according to the manufacturer, but Japan quarantine asked me to change it to 1 year. Even showing them the official website didn’t help. In the end I had to change it to 1 year…

So the second shot must be after 30 days and within 1 year, otherwise the first shot is considered expired.

Step 3: Rabies Antibody Titer Test (Blood Draw)

You can draw blood for the rabies antibody titer test on the same day as the second rabies shot.

Draw blood and extract serum

This is straightforward. After the second rabies shot, I asked the clinic to draw some blood, spin it in a centrifuge, and separate the serum.
The vet put the serum into two soft plastic microtubes, probably as a backup in case one leaks during shipping.

How much blood to draw depends on how much serum the lab needs. Usually 1ml serum is enough.

Sending serum to a testing lab

This was the hardest step. For saving money, I DIY’d almost everything else. But for shipping serum for testing, I had to use an agency. It cost around 2000 RMB.
The reasons I couldn’t do it myself are basically these two:

First: Japan only accepts designated labs

Japan AQS provides a list: 日本の農林水産大臣が指定する検査施設（指定検査施設）
Only test reports issued by these designated labs are valid.

The site lists many labs, but in Asia there was only one in Japan (and at the end of 2022, Taiwan added one). The rest are even farther.

So at first I planned to send the serum to the lab in Japan. I even emailed them: I’m bringing a cat to Japan, can I send serum for testing? Their reply was: “We can test it as long as you can deliver the serum to us.”
So I happily went to ask shipping companies. But both China Post and SF Express said serum is a biological product; individuals are not allowed to ship it, even domestically, let alone internationally.
Tragic.

So how did people used to do it? I searched on Twitter and found some pretty hardcore people who carried the serum themselves (or asked friends) and went to Japan to test it…
But under the strict COVID-era controls back then, going to Japan just to deliver serum was obviously not feasible (sigh).

Second: individuals can’t ship serum, only agencies can

I went back to the all-powerful Taobao. Search “pet serum testing shipping” and ask around. Quotes were mostly around 2000-3000 RMB, and they could ship to a Japan-designated lab.
Of course, they only handle delivery/testing. If the result is not qualified (antibody level below the threshold), they won’t take responsibility. You can only draw blood again and re-submit.

因为存在不合格的可能，所以有中介宣称能提供服务，用他们提供的血清送检，猫咪信息还是你家猫
只能说国人太会做生意了…

Since failing is possible, some agents even claim they can provide a “service”: use their own serum for testing, but put your cat’s info on it.
Business skills, truly…

After comparing Taobao shops and asking some folks on Twitter, I finally picked an agent that seemed ok.
I shipped the serum to the agent; they shipped it abroad; when results came out, the lab mailed them back to the agent; then the agent mailed the report to me.
Cost was around 2k RMB, paid upfront. I felt uneasy, but had no choice, so I transferred the money.

SF Express still wouldn’t ship serum. I had to use another courier. With a cooler box + ice packs, I said I was shipping a cake, and somehow got it through.

当然，肯定要在抽血之前找好送检中介，不然抽出来的血清都变温了（

Of course, you must find the agent before drawing blood, otherwise the serum warms up (

Test result

After shipping the serum, the rest is just leaving it to fate. Hopefully you pass, otherwise you waste both time and money.

After waiting for over a month, the agent messaged: result is out, qualified, no problem. Huge relief.
Then I waited for the report to arrive by mail.

From my limited observation, domestic agents almost all use the same lab in Germany. I don’t know why I rarely saw other labs being used.

Step 4: Waiting Period Before Entering Japan

Japan requires pets with a passing rabies antibody titer to stay in the exporting country (China, in my case) for 180 days as an observation period, to ensure the cat is truly not carrying rabies.
The 180 days are counted from the blood draw date for the antibody test. Before entering Japan, your pet must have stayed in China for at least 180 days.

If the 180 days are not met, the pet will be held in a dedicated quarantine facility until the 180-day period is completed (and yes, that’s not free).

One more thing to watch out for: in China, rabies vaccination validity is generally treated as 1 year, while the rabies antibody test certificate is valid for 2 years (counted from the blood draw date).
So if you draw blood on the same day you get the second rabies shot, you must enter Japan after 180 days, and within 1 year.
If the validity period of the second rabies shot is about to expire, remember to get a third booster in time.

Nothing big happened during this period. Go prepare your own immigration paperwork.

Step 5: Apply to Japan AQS at Least 40 Days Before Arrival

Before landing in Japan, you need to submit an application to the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS) office at your destination airport, saying that you are bringing a pet into Japan.
After you submit the required documents and they confirm everything is OK, they will issue you a 届出受理書 (Acceptance of Notification). Only then are you considered “approved” to bring your pet in.

This step takes time too. To make sure the documents are correct, you often have to email back and forth with AQS for a few rounds of “friendly discussion” before you get the 届出受理書.

So the next thing to do is the advance notification, i.e. 事前届出.

事前届出

This application must be submitted at least 40 days before your arrival date in Japan. Earlier is fine; later is not.
So don’t aim for exactly 40 days. Submit it 2 months ahead, or even 3 months ahead, just to secure the slot. You can still revise the application later.

There are two ways to submit:

  1. Email all documents to the airport AQS office, and go back and forth until they issue your 届出受理書.
  2. Use the online application system NACCS, submit information and documents there, and they will also issue a 届出受理書 if everything is fine.

For someone like me whose Japanese is not good enough, I definitely chose option 2.
NACCS（動物検疫関連業務）について（犬や猫の輸出入手続者用） is the intro page for NACCS. You can skim it to understand what documents you need and how the system works.

NACCS online application system

It’s been a while, so I’ve forgotten most of the operational details. I can only leave a few tips.
This application allows unlimited edits (I edited mine more than 5 times…), so for the first submission, you don’t need every single field to be perfect. Just make sure the key information is correct: your name, your pet’s name, the microchip number, vaccine records, and the rabies antibody test result.
For things like flight date or your address in Japan, you can put a placeholder or write 未定 (TBD), then update it after your schedule is finalized.

In practice, even with the online system you still end up emailing AQS for clarifications. For example: as mentioned above, Japan insisted that the validity of rabies vaccines issued in China is always 1 year. Even if the manufacturer website claims 3 years, AQS asked me to change it to 1 year.

届出受理書

事前届出 is just the act of submitting. AQS will review your documents. If everything is fine, they will issue you a 届出受理書. That’s the proof that AQS agrees to let you bring your cat into Japan.

Because my schedule got delayed again and again, I revised the documents many times before I finally got the 届出受理書.
After receiving it, print a few copies. You may need it for outbound customs, the airline, and inbound checks. (I only clearly remember the airline checking it on departure, though.)

Customs will check various documents when crossing borders. Some documents might not be returned after inspection, so besides the 届出受理書, it’s best to prepare photocopies for everything, just in case.

輸入検査申請書

Getting the 届出受理書 is not the end. It only means AQS agrees that you can bring a pet to Japan.
For the actual inspection on the day you arrive (the on-arrival clinical check), you still need to submit an application to the airport so they can arrange the inspection.
So once your schedule is finalized, you submit the 輸入検査申請書, telling AQS “I will arrive at airport X on date Y; please arrange an inspection for my pet on that day.”

You can also submit this via NACCS. After the 届出受理書 is issued, the system will remind you that you still need to submit the 輸入検査申請書. Don’t forget it.

Step 6: Pre-Departure Health Check (at a Pet Clinic)

Chronologically, this step should come after Step 7: obtain the certificate issued by China, because the clinical exam must be within 10 days before departure, and it’s done at a pet clinic.

Note: the validity of this exam is only 10 days. Doing it too early is useless.

Meanwhile, Step 7: the certificate issued by China Customs must be done within 14 days before departure, and it must be issued by a government agency (China Customs).
Obviously the second one is harder, but I’ll still record things in the official Japan guide order.

For Step 6, I went to a pet clinic and asked the vet to do a checkup. In a small city, vets usually have never done an “international travel exam”, so they didn’t even know what exactly to check.
In practice it was just a quick look: is the cat lively, any obvious signs of illness. Good enough.

The real goal wasn’t the checkup itself; it was to get the Form AC with the vet’s signature and the clinic stamp.

Form AC

Form AC looks like this:

简单看看，这个表格分为三个部分

  • Part 1: filled by the owner. Pet identity info, vaccination records, antibody test result. You can fill this part digitally and print it to avoid handwriting mistakes.
  • Part 2: filled by the pet clinic. Vet name, clinic name/address, exam date, vet signature, and finally the clinic stamp.
  • Part 3: the bottom section. In theory this should be filled and stamped by a government agency (Customs) to certify the above is true. But in China, government offices usually won’t stamp a foreign form with “unclear purpose”.

Japan AQS also anticipated this. In their email, they said if the Chinese government agency refuses to stamp Japan’s Form AC,
then it’s acceptable to submit a Form AC with only the vet signature and clinic stamp (i.e. only Parts 1 and 2).
However, in that case, you should make a photocopy of the Animal Health Certificate issued by China Customs in Step 7, and ask the pet clinic to stamp the copy of the certificate.

Below is the original email from AQS:

中国の動物検疫機関は「中華人民共和国出入境検験検疫局（以下、検験局。略称CIQ）」
となります。
1.検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞に全ての処置事項の記載がある、
または
2.日本の推奨様式Form ACに検験局のサイン及び公印を取得する、
 必要があります。


しかし、過去の輸入事例から上記２点の実現は非常に困難であると思われ、
1.については、狂犬病抗体検査についての記載がない
2.については、日本の様式に中国の公印を押印しない
 ということが予想されます。


このため、まず当メールの添付ファイルから推奨様式（Form AC）を印刷します。
(FormACは添付の記入例を参照してください。)
そして、中国から出国する10日以内に検験局指定の動物病院にて健康診断を受診の上、Form AC
の作成を依頼し、動物病院のスタンプ及び担当獣医師のサインを取得してください。


また、検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞も取得してください。
検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞に狂犬病抗体検査について
記載がなければ、その所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞のコピーを取り、
そのコピーに動物病院のスタンプを取得してください。

My guess: if the Animal Health Certificate issued by China Customs in Step 7 already includes all the info required in Form AC (pet identity info, vaccine records, antibody test result), then the clinic-stamped copy of the certificate might not be strictly necessary.
The main concern from Japan is that the Animal Health Certificate often does not include the rabies antibody test result. You can try asking Customs to include it when issuing the certificate, but don’t expect too much.
To be safe, it’s better to get a clinic-stamped copy anyway. It’s not that hard.

How to make corrections (訂正方法)

Form AC itself should have been easy: find a clinic willing to do the exam, fill the form, submit it, and wait for AQS to review.

But I ran into a problem here. On my first submission, I forgot to tick two checkboxes on the top-right of the form: pet sex and pet purpose.
AQS rejected the submission. I thought: fine, I’ll just tick them myself.
I filled them in and submitted again.

It got rejected again. AQS said corrections must follow the required method:

●追記・訂正方法
   ・追記・訂正は獣医師に実施いただいてください。
   ・訂正いただく際は、誤った記述を二重線で消し、付近に正しい情報を記載してください。
   ・追記・訂正箇所には、訂正者のサインの記入もしくは押印をお願いいたします。


※修正液などによる訂正は、不正な訂正となりますので絶対に行わないようご注意願います。

In other words:

  • You can’t modify Form AC yourself. The vet must do the correction.
  • Cross out the wrong content with a double line, and write the correct information nearby.
  • The vet must sign or stamp next to the correction, to certify the correction was made by the vet.

A small “Japan shock” moment.
So I had to go back to the clinic again and ask the vet to correct it and stamp it.

After submitting again, it finally passed review.
There was some friction, but nothing catastrophic.

Step 7: Obtain the Certificate Issued by China Customs

The certificate in this step refers to the Animal Health Certificate issued by a Chinese government agency (China Customs / CIQ).

The Animal Health Certificate is not the same thing as the Animal Quarantine Certificate that local quarantine offices issue for domestic flights in China. Don’t mix them up.

Dealing with government offices feels painful just thinking about it, but there was no way around it.

I first wasted a few days on the question “which Customs office should I go to?”
The local (small city) office said “we’ve never done this; go to the provincial capital.”
The provincial capital said “this is managed by the local jurisdiction; do it locally.”
They argued for a few days; in the end the local office compromised. They took the step-by-step instructions from the provincial office, and asked me to prepare the pet documents and come in.

It was also the first time the local office had handled pet export quarantine, so they were still figuring out the process. (They didn’t even have a microchip scanner, so I bought one at my own expense…)
I went to the Customs building several times. When processing the paperwork, they literally cross-checked each step against the provincial instructions. Pretty serious. Probably because they didn’t want to mess up and be held responsible.
Their attitude was fine, just slow. Still, not too bad.

This is only a rough summary. I don’t want to remember the details, and honestly I can’t. If you need to get this certificate, adapt based on your local policies.

Looking back, it was “smooth enough”, but at the time I had no confidence at all. I could only take it one step at a time and hope it would work out. Mentally exhausting.

In the end, the hard-earned Animal Health Certificate came as one original document plus a few attached copies.
On departure, China Customs will check it and keep one of the copies.
Make sure you keep the original, because Japan AQS needs the original during the on-arrival quarantine inspection.

Step 7.25: Intermission, Check Your Documents

At this point, you should have prepared most of the paperwork needed before departure. Now you just wait for the flight day.
Double-check what you have. It should include:

  1. Rabies antibody titer test result (the certificate showing a passing result)
  2. Animal Health Certificate (issued by Customs)
  3. Copy of the Animal Health Certificate (with vet signature and clinic stamp)
  4. Form AC (with vet signature and clinic stamp)
  5. 輸入検査申請書 (tells Japan AQS that you’ll arrive on date X)
  6. 届出受理書 (proof that Japan agrees to your pet’s entry)
  7. Flight ticket (including the pet cargo booking)
  8. Vaccination booklet (even if you may not need it anymore, keep it)

Among these, the originals of items 1-4 must be kept. They must not be taken away by China Customs on departure, because you need to hand those originals to Japan AQS after arrival.
So prepare extra copies for everything, just in case.

OK, now we’ve collected seven eight Dragon Balls. Time to summon Shenron.

Now we wait for departure.

Not really waiting, though. Saying goodbye to friends and family, packing, all kinds of things… it was busy.

Step 7.5: Flight Day

The departure day finally arrived.

Before checking baggage, I told the airline counter that I had reserved a pet cargo slot in advance and needed to check in a pet.
The staff were very helpful: they guided me through forms, took the pet cargo fee, had Customs check the documents, and then took my cat (curled up in the carrier) away for boarding.
The next time we’d meet would be in Japan.

You must buy an airline-compliant pet carrier. The main requirements are usually: sturdy, well-ventilated, etc.
Check your airline’s official website for the exact rules.

After that, it was just normal travel: check baggage, go through customs, board, take off. Nothing special to write about.

Step 8: Pet Inspection After Arriving in Japan

After landing in Japan, the first thing that greeted me was the familiar PCR testing process. (COVID era…)
After I was released, I went to pick up luggage and my cat. Airport staff kindly helped me find both. Thanks.
Then I followed the map provided by AQS in their email, found their small counter, and handed over the documents for verification.
After the documents were OK, they brought my cat into a small room next to the counter for a quick health check. It didn’t take long.

After everything was done, AQS gave me a document proving the inspection was completed and that this pet is allowed to enter Japan.

All done. Smooth process. Nice.

References

Various references mentioned (or not mentioned) in this post

  • 犬、猫の日本への入国 （指定地域以外編）：動物検疫所

  • 日本の農林水産大臣が指定する検査施設（指定検査施設）

  • NACCS（動物検疫関連業務）について（犬や猫の輸出入手続者用）

  • 写给宠物主人的对郭宇《日本移居指南》的补充 — Socranotes
    This post documents bringing a large dog into Japan. Very detailed, good as a reference.

  • 如何将自己的宠物带入日本境内- 良心整理 - 知乎

  • 不想跟毛小孩分開！從台灣帶寵物去日本的步驟解說 - tsunagu Local

  • Official email reply from Japan AQS (2022 version)
    This email was sent after submitting the 輸入検査申請書 in the NACCS system. It’s basically a checklist / reminder of required procedures.

    Long content, click to expand 
    2022/*/*に到着する動物の輸入に関する届出を受理しました。
    

    ※搭載予定航空機名（便名）、日本の住所(荷受人住所、仕向地住所)が決まりましたら、NACCSを利用して届出訂正してください。
    

    受理番号：*
    

    下記サイトを確認し、届出受理書をご確認ください。
    https://webaps.nac6.naccs.jp/dfw/prod/anau/anipas/*
    

    「届出受理書」は、輸出国での手続きや航空会社等の搭乗手続きの際に提示を求められること
    がありますので、印刷したもの、または、電子ファイルを大切に保管してください。
    （航空機へのペット搭載の可否については、ご利用予定の航空会社に必ずご確認ください。
    　 日本へのスムーズな入国のため予め届出情報をご搭乗予定の航空会社に提供する場合がありますのでご了承ください。）
    

    なお、受理書記載の係留期間は予定であり、12時間以内の係留検査を保証するものではありません。
    

    到着日の延期等、届出内容に変更が生じる場合は速やかに（当初の到着予定日までに）、
    NACCSシステムより変更手続きを行ってください。
    連絡が無く予定日に到着しなかった場合、今回の輸入届出についてはキャンセルとなります。
    

    ＜＜輸入検査＞＞
    成田空港到着後、税関検査前に動物の輸入検査を受ける必要があります。
    ご利用航空会社より動物を受け取り後、税関検査場内の動物検疫カウンターにお越しください。
    動物検疫カウンターの地図は添付ファイルを参照して下さい。
    当日、お手続きの所要時間は通常30分から1時間程度です。
    

    ＜＜証明書取得にあたっての注意事項＞＞
    中国は証明書の取得が非常に困難な国となっています。
    以下のウェブサイトに手続きの詳細が載っていますので、ご参照ください。
    北京　http://www.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/consular_j/animal-ctoj_j.htm
    広州　http://www.guangzhou.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/consular/doc/inuneko.htm
    上海　http://www.shanghai.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/procedure/new160503-j.html
    大連　https://www.dalian.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_ja/00_000430.html
    

    中国の動物検疫機関は「中華人民共和国出入境検験検疫局（以下、検験局。略称CIQ）」
    となります。
    1.検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞に全ての処置事項の記載がある、
    または
    2.日本の推奨様式Form ACに検験局のサイン及び公印を取得する、
    必要があります。
    

    しかし、過去の輸入事例から上記２点の実現は非常に困難であると思われ、
    1.については、狂犬病抗体検査についての記載がない
    2.については、日本の様式に中国の公印を押印しない
    ということが予想されます。
    

    このため、まず当メールの添付ファイルから推奨様式（Form AC）を印刷します。
    (FormACは添付の記入例を参照してください。)
    そして、中国から出国する10日以内に検験局指定の動物病院にて健康診断を受診の上、Form AC
    の作成を依頼し、動物病院のスタンプ及び担当獣医師のサインを取得してください。
    

    また、検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞も取得してください。
    検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞に狂犬病抗体検査について
    記載がなければ、その所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞のコピーを取り、
    そのコピーに動物病院のスタンプを取得してください。
    

    ＜＜到着時に必要な書類＞＞
    下記４点の原本
    ●狂犬病抗体検査証明書原本（指定検査施設発行のもの）
    ●検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞
    ●検験局の所定の様式＜ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE＞のコピー（動物病院のスタンプ）
    ●Form AC（動物病院のスタンプ及び担当獣医師のサイン）
    

    ●ご到着までにNACCSにて輸入検査申請手続をお願いいたします。
    

    

    ☆注意☆
    出国前の健康診断では、必ず獣医師にマイクロチップの読み取りを依頼してください。
    輸入検査時にマイクロチップが読み取れなかった場合は、返送または最長180日間の係留検査を
    受けることになります。
    

    証明書内容に不備がある場合（裏書きが無い場合を含む）、インク消し、消すことが可能な筆記具
    （鉛筆やフリクションペン等）やホワイト等の使用、文字の上から二重に書き込む等の不正な修正
    を加えた場合は、証明書を再取得していただきます。
    

    輸出国政府機関による裏書後に証明書内容を訂正することは困難ときいております。
    裏書き取得前に受理書を添付の上、FAXまたは電子メールで証明書をお送りいただきましたら、
    当所で内容を確認しますのでご活用ください。
    

    輸入検査において何らかの不備等があった場合、到着動物は飼い主様の負担により返送、
    または不備等が解消されるまで最長180日間の係留検査を受けることになりますので、
    着実にご準備くださいますようよろしくお願いいたします。

Summary

For this whole “fly my cat abroad” process, I tried to DIY as much as possible: reading docs, getting certificates, emailing AQS. It took a lot of time and energy.
Looking back, it really was full of obstacles.

Having money is good: just outsource everything to the almighty Taobao.

But obstacles aside, I did bring my cat over in the end, so it was worth it.

Huge thanks to all the online resources, kind strangers, and tons of posts (especially on Xiaohongshu) about taking pets abroad. Without those references, I probably wouldn’t have finished all the procedures smoothly.

That’s also one purpose of this note: to leave some references for people who want to bring their pets abroad in the future.

Before leaving, I hesitated about whether to bring my cat with me, because the paperwork is painful.
My family was against it too. Moving abroad alone is already chaotic; in a completely unfamiliar environment, there are always a million things to do at the beginning. They suggested I move first, settle down, and then bring the cat over later. That does sound like the most reliable plan…

But given the occasional news about pets being killed in China, I still wanted to get my cat out sooner rather than later…

Luckily, things worked out. Arrived in Japan successfully. Big success 🎉

That’s the end of this post. Fin.

2024/02/06, Japan

Next Preview

Finally finished writing this whole process of bringing my cat to Japan. A huge weight off my shoulders.
I created this file in early December, and only finished it now (early February). Two months… defeated procrastination at last.

Ideally, I should have started writing soon after arriving, while the memory was still fresh.
But for a first-time overseas life, there were many expected and unexpected difficulties.
Language barrier: my construction-site “patchwork Japanese” passed the exam, but living in Japan is still hard.
Work: I didn’t know what I was doing. Typical newbie.
Life: living alone with one cat is way too comfy.

Even though my cat’s poop smells deadly, it annoys me when I sleep, and sometimes treats my blanket like a pee pad, it’s still a good cat.

This post is about bringing my cat to Japan. Later I’ll probably write a post about my own journey to Japan.

For me, “coming to Japan” is probably one of the biggest turning points in my life so far.
Writing down what I’m thinking right now will likely be fun to reread in the future.

Feels like another huge project. I’m already tired.
So before starting that, I’ll probably write a few lighter posts first to relax.

To be continued

Because I was busy writing this “bring my cat to Japan” series, I postponed my 2023 Year in Review, and now it looks like I won’t even finish before Lunar New Year.
My emergency fix: start writing the 2024 Year in Review from now on. With a whole year, surely I can finish before this year’s New Year, right?

One twelfth of the 2024 Year in Review: January 2024, monthly recap. New folder created with great fanfare.