Japan · fresh fruit and vegetables · buyer checklist
Japan fresh produce import checklist: plant quarantine, MHLW notification, residues and organic JAS, by product and origin
Official sources reviewed: 26 Oct 2026
Short answer
- Every fresh fruit or vegetable entering Japan passes two government gates: MAFF plant quarantine (product–origin access, phytosanitary certificate, import inspection) and MHLW food safety (import notification, residue limits, monitoring).
- Many fruits from Peru, Ecuador, India, Kenya and Colombia are prohibited unless a MAFF standard opens a specific variety and treatment. The guides below cite the standard for each pair or say it is not open.
- Organic wording (有機, organic) needs the organic JAS mark; a foreign organic certificate alone does not allow it.
- The importer and exporter must verify current product–origin requirements with Japan's authorities before contracting. Nothing here is legal advice or a clearance promise.
Six-step import-readiness checklist
Use it before contracting. Each step links the official page it is based on.
1. Product–origin market access (MAFF plant quarantine)
Japan classifies fresh fruit and vegetables by country of production and plant type: some are prohibited, some are admissible only under a MAFF standard that fixes the variety, designated sites and treatment, and others need inspection only. A trade flow in past years does not prove that a route is open today.
Check before contracting
- Scientific name, variety, country and region of production
- The MAFF standard (notice number) for that exact product–origin pair, or confirmation that none is needed
- Current-season list of designated production sites, packhouses and treatment facilities sent by the exporting country
- Database for Importing Conditions (English) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- List of the import prohibited plants (Annexed Table 2, Ordinance for Enforcement of the Plant Protection Act) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 17 Sep 2025
- Import condition search (輸出入条件詳細情報) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
2. Phytosanitary certificate and import plant inspection
A phytosanitary certificate issued by the exporting country's government and an import inspection by the Plant Protection Station are legally required regardless of quantity or intended use. Product-specific standards add declarations, seals, markings or pest-proof packing.
Check before contracting
- Draft certificate reviewed before shipment: botanical name, origin, additional declarations, treatment record
- Seals, carton markings and packing exactly as the standard requires
- Plan for the result: lots that fail may have to be disinfected, destroyed or returned
- Regulations when bringing plants into Japan from another country — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
3. MHLW food import notification
Under Article 27 of the Food Sanitation Act the importer notifies the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for each import of food for sale or business use; food may not be sold without it. The notification goes to an MHLW quarantine station, where food sanitation inspectors examine documents and may inspect the goods. MHLW lists 32 quarantine stations at international airports and seaports.
Check before contracting
- A named importer of record in Japan who files each notification
- Production and handling details the importer needs from the exporter, per shipment
- Import procedure under the Food Sanitation Act — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Imported Food Safety (32 quarantine stations; Imported Foods Monitoring and Guidance Plan) — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
4. Pesticide residues and MRLs
Since 29 May 2006 Japan applies a positive list system: residues must stay within the maximum residue limit set for each substance and food, and a uniform limit of 0.01 ppm applies where no specific limit exists. Check the current limits for the product and every substance in the spray programme.
Check before contracting
- Exporter's spray record for the lot, compared with Japan's limits for that commodity
- Pre-shipment residue analysis by an accredited laboratory, if the buyer requires it (a buyer practice, not a legal step)
- Introduction of the Positive List System for Agricultural Chemical Residues in Foods — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), Jun 2006
5. Food-safety monitoring and inspection orders
MHLW inspects imported food under its annual Imported Foods Monitoring and Guidance Plan. Products with a record of violations can be placed under inspection orders, so each lot is tested before release. When a violation is found, measures include disposal or shipping back to the country of origin.
Check before contracting
- Whether the product–origin pair is under an inspection order
- Time and cold storage for a possible hold at the port
- Imported Foods Monitoring and Guidance Plan, FY2026 — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), 2026
- Inspection orders under Article 26(3), Food Sanitation Act — Appendix 1 (lists cultured shrimp from India: furazolidone) — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
6. Organic claims: organic JAS
In Japan, only operators certified by a MAFF-registered certification body may apply the organic JAS mark, and labelling agricultural products without it as 有機 (organic), オーガニック or anything confusingly similar is prohibited by law. A foreign organic certificate is therefore not enough on its own: either the producer holds organic JAS certification from a registered body whose area covers it, or the product enters under an equivalence arrangement through an importer certified for that route. MAFF publishes the arrangements; check whether the origin is covered.
Check before contracting
- Organic JAS certificate: holder, scope (organic agricultural products), site and validity
- Or: equivalence coverage for the origin plus a Japanese importer certified for equivalence imports
- Never use 有機/organic wording on offers or cartons until one of these is confirmed
- 有機食品の検査認証制度 (Organic food inspection and certification system) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- 有機登録認証機関一覧 (Registered organic certification bodies) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- 有機食品の同等性について (Organic equivalence) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
Product–origin guides: where a MAFF standard exists
Status, conditions and Japan's reported 2025 imports for each pair. Steps 2–6 apply to all of them.
Peru
Hass avocado
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Hass only, not mature fruit; designated production regions and packing facilities; certificate with additional declarations, seals and markings.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 19,177 t
Standards for fresh Hass avocados shipped from Peru (MAFF Notice No. 1517) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 15 Jun 2015
Colombia
Hass avocado
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Hass only, not mature fruit; designated orchards and packhouses; shipped directly; sea or air cargo.
ICA's list of packhouses enabled for Japan was updated on 6 Oct 2026. Plan de trabajo aguacate Hass Colombia–Japón: plantas empacadoras habilitadas (actualizado 6 Oct 2026) — ICA – Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario, 6 Oct 2026
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): None reported
Standards for fresh Hass avocados shipped from Colombia (Notice No. 588) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 31 Jul 2019
Peru
Table grapes (Vitis vinifera)
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Sea cargo; cold treatment in approved containers (fruit core ≤1 °C 16 days, ≤2 °C 18 days or ≤3 °C 20 days), started before export.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 5,376 t
Standards for fresh grapes (Vitis vinifera) shipped from Peru (Notice No. 438, amended 25 Nov 2025) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 25 Nov 2025
Peru
Unshu (satsuma) mandarin
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Unshu only; sea cargo with cold treatment (≤2.1 °C 18 days or ≤3 °C 23 days). Other mandarins in the same HS code are not covered.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 3,985 t
Standards for fresh unshu (satsuma) mandarins shipped from Peru (Notice No. 2131, amended 25 Nov 2025) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 25 Nov 2025
Peru
Kent mango
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Kent only; hot-water immersion at 47 °C until the fruit core reaches 46 °C; certificate, pest-proof packing, seals and markings.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 644 t
Standards for fresh Kent mangoes shipped from Peru (Notice No. 243, amended to 26 Jul 2023) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 26 Jul 2023
India
Mango (six named varieties)
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Alphonso, Kesar, Chausa, Banganapalli, Mallika and Langra only; designated areas; vapor heat treatment (fruit core ≥47.5 °C for 20 minutes).
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 61 t
Standards for fresh Alphonso, Kesar, Chausa, Banganapalli, Mallika and Langra mangoes shipped from India (Notice No. 888) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 23 Jun 2006
Colombia
Tommy Atkins mango
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Tommy Atkins only; vapor heat treatment (fruit core ≥46 °C for 20 minutes).
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): None reported
Standards for fresh Tommy Atkins mangoes shipped from Colombia (Notice No. 1471, amended to 26 Jul 2023) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 26 Jul 2023
Colombia
Yellow pitaya
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Designated regions; shipped directly; vapor heat treatment (fruit core ≥46 °C for 20 minutes); effective 1 Aug 2023.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): None reported
Standards for fresh yellow pitaya shipped directly from Colombia (Notice No. 877, effective 1 Aug 2023) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 26 Jul 2023
Ecuador
Immature bananas
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Immature bananas only: Musa fresh fruit from these origins is prohibited except immature banana. Phytosanitary certificate and import inspection apply.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 94,057 t
List of the import prohibited plants (Annexed Table 2, Ordinance for Enforcement of the Plant Protection Act) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 17 Sep 2025
Peru
Immature bananas
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Immature bananas only: Musa fresh fruit from these origins is prohibited except immature banana. Phytosanitary certificate and import inspection apply.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): 4,894 t
List of the import prohibited plants (Annexed Table 2, Ordinance for Enforcement of the Plant Protection Act) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 17 Sep 2025
Colombia
Immature bananas
Admissible with conditions (official standard)
Immature bananas only: Musa fresh fruit from these origins is prohibited except immature banana. Phytosanitary certificate and import inspection apply.
Japan imports 2025 (UN Comtrade, Japan-reported, retrieved 26 Oct 2026): None reported
List of the import prohibited plants (Annexed Table 2, Ordinance for Enforcement of the Plant Protection Act) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), 17 Sep 2025
Trade figures are Japan-reported net weight; HS codes can group several products (for example 080450 covers guavas, mangoes and mangosteens).
Not open, or not confirmed
- Peru — fresh blueberries: prohibited; MAFF lists the request at the pest-identification stage (June 2025). Import-ban lifting requests from Peru (blueberry: quarantine pests identified, June 2025) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Kenya — fresh avocado and passion fruit: prohibited; requests received September 2019. Import-ban lifting requests from Kenya (avocado, passion fruit: requests received September 2019) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Ecuador — fresh mango and yellow pitaya: prohibited; lifting requests still in negotiation. Import-ban lifting requests from Ecuador (mango, yellow pitaya) — Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
- Peru — fresh peas and asparagus; Kenya — pineapple: no pair-specific condition retrieved; verify in the PPS database. Import condition search (輸出入条件詳細情報) — MAFF Plant Protection Station (Japan), undated page, accessed 26 Oct 2026
Supply-side readiness: orchards, irrigation and packhouses
Japanese standards name designated sites, packhouses and treatment facilities. For growers and exporters, uniform quality starts with water management and packhouse flow — SeedMatch's core project scope.
- Packing-house project planning
MAFF standards for Peruvian and Colombian avocados name designated packing facilities; sorting, grading and sealed, marked cartons start here.
- How to plan a packing house
Capacity, cold rooms and flow for export-grade lots.
- Irrigation center
Uniform size and maturity depend on water management in orchards and vegetable fields.
- Export-grade production requirements
Grower-side checklists for markets with strict residue and documentation rules.
One RFQ for a Japanese programme
Submit one request to Global B2B Group, SeedMatch's parent group, with each product, variety, grade, origin preference, packaging, volume, delivery window and the documents your Japanese customers require.
- Consolidated sourcing across origins in one request
- Supplier screening against the access rule and documents for each pair
- Logistics coordination with the parties involved
- Free for buyers; programmes from USD 250,000; suppliers never contact you directly
- No guarantee of clearance, certification, price or savings
Related Japan buyer resources
For exporters and growers (Spanish / Portuguese)
Questions buyers ask
Which fresh fruits from Peru, Ecuador, India, Kenya and Colombia have a Japanese import standard?
As of the sources reviewed on 26 Oct 2026: Peruvian Hass avocados, table grapes, unshu mandarins and Kent mangoes; Indian mangoes of six named varieties; Colombian Hass avocados, Tommy Atkins mangoes and yellow pitaya; and immature bananas from Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Each has its own conditions. Confirm the current standard with the Plant Protection Station before contracting.
Is a phytosanitary certificate enough to import fresh produce into Japan?
No. The certificate and plant inspection are one gate. The importer must also file a food import notification with an MHLW quarantine station for each shipment, and residues must meet Japan's limits under the positive list system.
Who files the MHLW import notification?
The importer in Japan, for each import of food for sale or business use, at an MHLW quarantine station. Food may not be sold without it (Food Sanitation Act, Article 27).
What residue limit applies when Japan has no specific MRL?
A uniform limit of 0.01 ppm, under the positive list system in force since 29 May 2006. Check the current limit for each substance and commodity.
Can produce with a foreign organic certificate be sold as organic in Japan?
Only with the organic JAS mark. The producer needs organic JAS certification from a MAFF-registered certification body, or the product must enter under an equivalence arrangement through an importer certified for that route. Without one of these, 有機 or organic wording is prohibited.
What do Global B2B Group and SeedMatch do — and not do?
They are buyer-side sourcing intermediaries: they consolidate the request, screen suppliers and coordinate logistics with the parties involved. They do not import, export, certify or hold stock, and they do not guarantee clearance, certification, prices or savings. Buyers do not pay to submit a request; programmes start at USD 250,000; suppliers do not contact buyers directly.
General information, not legal advice. Each importer, exporter and supplier remains responsible for the rules that apply to its own role; requirements change, so confirm the current product–origin requirement with MAFF and MHLW before contracting.