Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare looks after imported products with the Environmental Health Bureau responsible for products checking. Under the control of the Bureau, Quarantine Stations are available at 32 significant docks and airports in Japan.

Import Control Measures

The laws that control imports in Japan are as follows:

	Food Sanitation Law
	Law concerning Standardization and Proper Labeling of Agricultural and Forestry Products controlled by Japanese Agricultural Standards, JAS

Import Control Method

	Import products are kept in Bonded Warehouse. After public health staffs at the station have checked the products, they give importers certificates used for passing Customs procedures. This process takes 6-10 days approximately. The products that fail the test will be returned to the country of origin. However, if dangerous germs are found, the products will be destroyed by burning.
	Apart from being tested at the docks, when the products are sent for retail sale on shelf in supermarkets, they might be examined again by local public health staffs. If germs are found, they have power to remove those products from shelf.
	If germs or antibiotics are often found in a particular product, Public Health Department of Japan then contacts with organizations in those countries of origin to send in public health officers to investigate the matter and work together in finding out the solution to that problem.

Current Situations

Japan has developed and improved systems so as to build up confidence in product quality by bringing in Pre-Certification System. This system is like HACCP but it mainly focuses on product hygiene. The system also applies with processed food. According to this system, the countries of origin will be controlled by their own inspection bodies.