Guides · 処方薬・市販薬 · kusuri
The Japanese Medicine Cabinet — What Equals What
Standing in a Japanese pharmacy looking for something equivalent to what you would buy at home is one of the more disorienting experiences of moving here. The active ingredients are largely the same; the brand names, the doses and the customs around them are not.
This guide maps the common ones. Names in brackets are the generic (active ingredient) names, which are what your doctor and pharmacist will recognise instantly if the brand name fails you.
Painkillers and fever
| In Japan | Active ingredient | Equivalent to |
|---|---|---|
| Loxonin / ロキソニン | loxoprofen | An NSAID in the ibuprofen family; stronger than typical OTC ibuprofen |
| Karonal / カロナール, Calonal | acetaminophen (paracetamol) | Tylenol, Panadol |
| Bufferin / バファリン | varies by product | Some contain aspirin, some acetaminophen — check the box |
| EVE / イブ | ibuprofen | Advil, Nurofen |
| Boltaren / ボルタレン | diclofenac | Voltaren |
Loxonin is the default painkiller in Japan and is available both on prescription and over the counter. It is an NSAID, so the usual cautions apply: take it with food, avoid it if you have stomach ulcers or significant kidney disease, and do not combine it with other NSAIDs.
Acetaminophen (Karonal) is the first choice in pregnancy and for children, as elsewhere in the world.
One thing that surprises new arrivals: Japanese OTC doses are often lower than the equivalent product at home, and prescription-strength versions of the same drug are common. If a pharmacy product seems weak, that may be exactly what it is.
Colds, coughs and hay fever
There is no direct equivalent to the American all-in-one nighttime cold remedy. Japanese practice leans towards separate medicines for separate symptoms, plus one distinctive category:
- Kakkonto (葛根湯) — a kampo (traditional herbal) formula taken at the very first sign of a cold. It is mainstream here, sold in every pharmacy and prescribed by ordinary physicians. Evidence for it is modest, but it is safe for most adults and deeply embedded in the culture. Do not be surprised when a doctor offers it.
- Pabron / パブロン, Lulu / ルル — combination cold remedies, closest to a Contac or Theraflu.
- Allegra (フェキソフェナジン), Claritin (ロラタジン), Zyrtec (セチリジン) — the same non-drowsy antihistamines you know, available OTC. Essential from February to April, when Japan's cedar pollen season makes hay fever close to universal.
Stomach and gut
- Gaster 10 / ガスター10 — famotidine, for heartburn and acid.
- Seirogan / 正露丸 — a traditional anti-diarrhoeal with an unmistakable creosote smell. Effective, but the odour is memorable.
- Biofermin / ビオフェルミン — probiotics, prescribed and sold very widely.
- Ohta's Isan / 太田胃散 — a classic antacid powder.
What you cannot bring into Japan
This is the part that catches people out, and the consequences are serious — including detention at the airport. Japan's narcotics and stimulants laws are strict and are enforced against ordinary travellers carrying ordinary home medicine.
Cannot be brought in by anyone: amphetamine and methamphetamine (Adderall, Evekeo, Desoxyn). These are stimulants under Japanese law and no permit exists for personal use, regardless of your prescription at home.
Allowed only with an advance permit, carried in person: lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse, Elvanse) and selegiline are classed as stimulant raw materials, not stimulants. Since April 2020 you can apply to the regional Narcotics Control Department for a carry-in permit — at least two weeks before you enter Japan, with a doctor's certificate — and bring them yourself. Posting them or sending them with someone else is not allowed.
Depends on the product: pseudoephedrine (Sudafed and many combination cold remedies) is a stimulant raw material only when it makes up more than 10% of the product; below that it falls under the ordinary rules. Whether the carry-in permit covers products above 10% is not confirmed, and most overseas brands do not state the percentage, so ask the Narcotics Control Department before you fly rather than guessing. Codeine above 1% is a narcotic and needs a permit — almost every codeine tablet is above that line; 1% or less, which in practice means mainly cough syrups, is treated as an ordinary medicine.
Allowed within limits (psychotropics) or with an advance permit (narcotics): narcotic analgesics (oxycodone, morphine) and psychotropics, including methylphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin) — note that methylphenidate is a psychotropic here, not a banned stimulant, which is why it is treated differently from Adderall. Psychotropics face two separate checks, and neither requires an application to the Narcotics Control Department. The first is the total amount: if it stays within the published cap for that ingredient and the medicine is not injectable, this check needs no document; above the cap, or for an injectable psychotropic, carry a copy of your prescription or a doctor's letter giving your name and address and the name and quantity of the medicine. You keep this with the medicine; it is not submitted anywhere. The second is the length of supply: up to a month's supply needs no import certificate; for more than a month's supply — and, according to the Ministry of Health, for an injectable psychotropic in any amount — you need an import certificate, the Yakkan Shoumei (薬監証明), now formally the Yunyu Kakunin-sho (輸入確認証), from the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare for your arrival airport, obtained before you travel. Narcotics are a separate system: any quantity of a narcotic, even a single tablet, needs a narcotics carry-in permit (麻薬携帯輸入許可) from the regional Narcotics Control Department, applied for at least two weeks before you enter Japan — this is not the import certificate, and one does not stand in for the other.
Generally fine in personal quantities: most ordinary prescription drugs (up to about one month's supply) and OTC medicines (up to about a two-month supply). Bring them in original labelled packaging with a copy of your prescription.
If you take a regular medication, check its status before you fly rather than after you land. If you are already living here and take something in the restricted category, your Japanese doctor can usually prescribe a locally approved alternative — but arrange that before your supply runs out, not on the last day.
Why your prescription is so short
New arrivals routinely find themselves handed three days of medicine and told to come back. This is not distrust; it is how Japanese outpatient care is structured. The reasoning, the fee system behind it, and how to get a longer supply once you are stable are covered in Why Your Doctor Gave You Three Days of Medicine.
Practical notes on buying
Pharmacies are divided into 調剤薬局 (dispensing pharmacies, which fill prescriptions and cluster around clinics) and ドラッグストア (drugstores, for OTC products). Some drugstores do both.
Certain OTC medicines are classed as 第1類 (Class 1) and can only be handed over by a licensed pharmacist, which means they sit behind the counter and may be unavailable when no pharmacist is on duty — often in the evening. If a shelf shows an empty box with a card, that is why.
Finally, keep your medicine notebook (お薬手帳). It is the small booklet the pharmacy stamps with every prescription you fill, and it is genuinely useful: it prevents interactions, speeds up any new consultation, and slightly reduces your pharmacy fee. Digital versions exist as apps.
General information only. Any medication decision should involve a doctor or pharmacist who knows your history — and drug regulations change, so before travelling verify import rules with the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare for your arrival airport (ordinary and psychotropic medicines) or the Narcotics Control Department (narcotics and stimulant raw materials).