A MAQIS import permit for a pet from Japan is issued by the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department through the ePermit system, and it must exist before your dog or cat leaves Japan. The Japan side runs on its own clock: an AQS export inspection booked through NACCS at least 14 days ahead. Quarantine on arrival is the one point official sources currently contradict, so confirm it with MAQIS or DVS before booking flights.
Introduction: why Japan files feel easy and are not
Japan is one of the best-documented origins a pet can travel from, yet a MAQIS import permit for a pet from Japan still fails for the same reasons as any other file: timing, breed and one quarantine question nobody can answer in a single sentence right now.
Families relocating from Tokyo or Osaka to Kuala Lumpur usually arrive with immaculate vaccine books. What they do not have is a plan for two governments running two separate processes on two different clocks: Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service on one side, MAQIS on the other.
This guide walks the Japan-specific sequence the way we run it at My Pet Mover as part of our Japan to Malaysia pet import and export service. The video below sets out the shape of an international pet move first.
Who issues the permit for a pet arriving from Japan
The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department issues it, through the ePermit system, before the animal departs Japan. The Department of Veterinary Services sets the health conditions the permit is checked against. Japan’s authorities issue none of it — their paperwork ends at export.
The official DVS import procedure puts the permit last in the chain: breed first, then vaccinations and age, then the veterinary health certificate from the exporting authority, and only then the import permit from MAQIS before departure.
A MAQIS import permit for a pet from Japan covers one named animal, tied to its microchip, and runs on a limited travel window: the basics in our general guide to getting a MAQIS import permit all apply. What changes is who produces the supporting documents and how far ahead each must be booked.
Quarantine from Japan: what the sources actually say
It depends on which document you read. Japan sits on the quarantine-exempt scheduled list DVS has published for years, yet a revised health-certificate protocol reported from 28 December 2024 points to at least 14 days of quarantine for arrivals. We plan every file as if quarantine applies and confirm the current treatment with MAQIS in writing.
It is the first question owners ask, and the one point where a single confident number would mislead you. The table below sets each version against its source.
Quarantine From Japan, by Source Version
| Source version | What it says about Japan | Status |
|---|---|---|
| DVS scheduled-country framework | Japan listed among scheduled origins, historically exempt from quarantine when documents are complete and the arrival health check is clean | Long-published list |
| DVS import procedure (current download) | Sets the breed, vaccine, certificate and permit sequence; makes no promise of exemption on its own | Verified August 2026 |
| Revised protocol reported from 28 Dec 2024 | Not less than 14 days quarantine on arrival, rabies antibody titre of 0.5 IU/ml or higher, longer stays when results are incomplete | Industry-reported, unconfirmed online |
| MAQIS practice on live files | Treatment confirmed per file at application time; quarantine space booked in case it is required | Our working method |
Source: My Pet Mover source-tracking on Japan-origin files, compiled August 2026. Confirm the current position with MAQIS or DVS before travel.
We unpack the day-count debate in Malaysia pet quarantine: seven days or fourteen, and the list logic in scheduled versus non-scheduled countries. The Japan-specific verdict gets its own piece in dog quarantine in Malaysia from Japan: none or 14 days.
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The paper chain: what Japan issues, what Malaysia issues
A Japan file splits cleanly down the middle. Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service produces the export quarantine certificate and the vet records behind it. Malaysia produces the import permit and any quarantine booking. Neither side accepts a substitute from the other.
The grouping below is how we brief owners, because the most common Japan-file mistake is chasing a Malaysian document from a Japanese office or the reverse.
Japan File Documents, by Issuing Side
| Document | What it does | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Japan side | ||
| Export quarantine certificate | Japan’s official sign-off that the animal passed export inspection; the certificate MAQIS reads as the exporting authority’s endorsement | AQS, at inspection |
| Rabies and core vaccine records | Prove cover is valid on the day the pet lands in Malaysia, not just at departure | Japanese vet clinic |
| Microchip record | ISO-standard chip number tying every document to the animal in the crate | Japanese vet clinic |
| Malaysia side | ||
| MAQIS import permit | Authorises the named animal to land, lodged through ePermit before departure from Japan | MAQIS, via ePermit |
| Quarantine booking, where required | Reserves KLAQS space in case the arrival treatment requires a stay | Quarantine station |
Source: My Pet Mover file structure for Japan-origin imports, 2026.
The full inbound paperwork picture, item by item, is in our document checklist for pets entering Malaysia, with the certificate side explained in our guide to the veterinary health certificate Malaysia expects.
How to apply: the sequence a Japan file runs in
The MAQIS import permit for a pet from Japan is lodged through the ePermit system, which runs on registered subscriber accounts — in practice through a MAQIS-appointed agent. The application itself is quick. The six steps around it are what set your date.
- Clear breed and age first. Malaysia bans some breeds outright, several of them Japanese, and every dog or cat must be older than three months. These two checks can end a move, so they come before any money is spent.
- Tie the identity together. ISO microchip implanted, chip number on every record, rabies vaccination valid on the day of arrival in Malaysia — not the day of departure from Japan.
- Open the file with an appointed agent. The ePermit system runs on registered accounts, and someone must present the animal at the arrival counter. Our piece on why you cannot DIY a MAQIS permit explains the account problem in full.
- Book Japan’s export inspection through NACCS. AQS asks for the application at least 14 days before the desired inspection date, so this booking goes in early, not the week of the flight.
- Lodge the permit and reserve quarantine space. The ePermit application is filed before departure and timed against the permit’s short validity window (see how long a MAQIS import permit lasts), with KLAQS space held in case the arrival treatment requires it.
- Export inspection, then fly. AQS inspects, issues the export quarantine certificate, and the pet departs with the permit, certificate and vaccine records travelling as one file.
The Akita and Tosa problem: Japanese breeds Malaysia bans
The Akita and the Japanese Tosa, the two dog breeds most associated with Japan, are both on Malaysia’s banned list. No permit is issued for them at all. Shiba Inu and Japanese Spitz are unaffected, and restricted breeds like the German Shepherd need written approval first.
The DVS importation regulations name the Akita and Japanese Tosa alongside the Pit Bull group, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Neapolitan Mastiff and American Bulldog as banned. Restricted breeds (Rottweiler, Doberman, Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, the shepherd family and the Perro de Presa Canario) can enter only with prior written approval from the MAQIS Director General, which involves a premises inspection in Malaysia.
For a Japan file this is the cruellest late discovery: Akita ownership is common and the ban is absolute. Check the breed on day one against our guide to dog breeds banned or restricted in Malaysia.
Japan’s exit gate: the AQS export inspection
Japan will not let a dog or cat leave without an export inspection by the Animal Quarantine Service. The application goes through the NACCS system at least 14 days before the desired inspection date, and the inspection itself happens within 10 days of departure.
Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service export procedure is precise about the mechanics. The exporter applies through NACCS, attaches the vet certificates, and states a preferred inspection slot. On the day, the officer checks the animal and the originals, and the export quarantine certificate is usually issued within 30 to 60 minutes at counters such as Narita, Haneda and Kansai, which take appointments between 8:30 and 16:30.
Two details catch owners out. A reservation cannot be made before the application exists, so a late NACCS filing pushes the whole flight. And if a handler presents the pet instead of the applicant, AQS expects a signed power of attorney. We time this booking against the flight and the permit window as one exercise on our pet import into Malaysia files.
The countdown: a Japan file week by week
A comfortable Japan to Malaysia file runs about eight to twelve weeks. The two fixed anchors are Japan’s NACCS deadline and the MAQIS permit’s travel window. Everything else is planned backwards from those two dates.
Japan File Countdown to Arrival
| Weeks before arrival | Task | Why that window |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 12 to 8 | Breed and age check, agent appointed, quarantine question put to MAQIS | Eligibility can end the move |
| Weeks 8 to 6 | Rabies and core vaccinations aligned so cover spans the arrival date | Validity is checked at landing |
| Weeks 6 to 4 | Flight and crate booked, NACCS export application filed with AQS | AQS wants 14 days’ notice |
| Weeks 4 to 2 | ePermit application lodged, KLAQS space reserved where required | Permit runs on a travel window |
| Final 10 days | AQS export inspection, certificate issued, departure and KLIA arrival | Inspection sits inside 10 days |
Source: My Pet Mover standard planning schedule for Japan-origin files, 2026.
For a pet from Japan, the vaccination row does the quiet damage. Japanese clinics commonly run one-year rabies cycles, and cover that expires mid-plan forces a re-vaccination and a reset. The rules are set out in our guide to rabies vaccination rules for pets entering Malaysia, and slot booking in how to book a KLAQS quarantine slot.
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Where Japan files lose time
On the Japan-origin files we handle, the delays cluster around vaccine validity that lapses before arrival, NACCS bookings that fall out of step with changed flights, and quarantine assumptions carried over from outdated advice. The permit itself is rarely the problem.
Causes of Delay on Japan-Origin Files
| Cause of delay | Relative frequency | Where it originates |
|---|---|---|
| Rabies validity lapsing before arrival | Vaccine cycle | |
| NACCS slot out of step with a changed flight | Booking order | |
| Quarantine assumed away from old advice | Outdated sources | |
| Breed question raised too late | Owner | |
| Permit window missed after a date change | Schedule change |
Source: My Pet Mover casework pattern, Japan-origin files, 2024 to 2026.
Every one of these is preventable in week one, and most repeat the wider pattern we chart in common pet import mistakes that delay entry.
What the permit does not settle
A MAQIS import permit for a pet from Japan authorises entry and nothing more. Arrival handling at KLIA, any quarantine stay, the government fees and, if your pet may one day fly back, Japan’s own re-entry rules all sit outside it and need their own planning.
On landing, the pet clears veterinary inspection and, where required, transfers to the quarantine station. What that stay looks like is covered in our guides to pet quarantine at KLIA and the KLAQS quarantine stay itself, with the charges set out in MAQIS fees and import permit costs.
One Japan-specific warning: if there is any chance your pet returns to Japan later, start planning before you leave. Japan’s re-entry rules involve a rabies titer test and a long wait we explain in Japan’s titer test: the long wait explained. That test is far easier to arrange while still in Japan than from Kuala Lumpur afterwards.
Conclusion: two clocks, one honest unknown
Getting a MAQIS import permit for a pet from Japan is a sequencing exercise: breed and age first, identity and vaccines second, NACCS and ePermit against their deadlines, and the quarantine question put to MAQIS in writing rather than assumed either way.
Japan files reward early starters more than almost any route we run. The paperwork on both sides is precise, the deadlines are published, and the only genuine uncertainty, quarantine on arrival, is manageable if you budget for it and ask the authority instead of the internet.
Start twelve weeks out, fix the two anchor dates, and the permit becomes what it should be: the confirmation step at the end of a file that was already in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who issues the import permit for a pet flying from Japan to Malaysia?
The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department issues it through the ePermit system, before the animal departs Japan. Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service issues the export quarantine certificate on its side, but plays no part in the Malaysian permit.
2. Do pets from Japan skip quarantine in Malaysia?
Sources currently conflict. Japan sits on the quarantine-exempt scheduled list DVS has published for years, but a revised protocol reported from 28 December 2024 points to at least 14 days for arrivals. Confirm the current treatment with MAQIS or DVS before booking, and budget as if a stay applies.
3. When should the ePermit application be lodged for a Japan departure?
In the final weeks before the flight, timed against the permit’s short travel window, and only after the microchip, vaccinations and breed checks are complete. The NACCS export application on the Japan side goes in earlier, at least 14 days before the desired inspection date.
4. Can I bring my Akita from Japan to Malaysia?
No. The Akita and the Japanese Tosa are both on Malaysia’s banned breed list, and no import permit is issued for them. Shiba Inu and Japanese Spitz are unaffected, while restricted breeds such as the German Shepherd need written approval from the MAQIS Director General first.
5. What does Japan require before my pet can leave for Malaysia?
An export inspection by the Animal Quarantine Service. The application is filed through NACCS at least 14 days before the desired inspection date, the inspection happens within 10 days of departure, and the export quarantine certificate is usually issued at the counter within the hour.
Bringing your pet from Japan to Malaysia?
Send us your pet’s breed, microchip number, vaccine dates and target arrival month. We will confirm eligibility, put the quarantine question to MAQIS on your file, and send a written quote with both countries’ deadlines mapped out.
