Japan regulates dog breeders and pet shops through the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals. Amendments passed in 2019 and phased in from 2020 to 2022 added firm numbers: an age limit and a lifetime litter limit for breeding females, staff ratios, a ban on selling puppies under 56 days and mandatory microchips for dogs bred for sale.
The most important first
- Breeding or selling dogs as a business requires registration as a Type I animal handling business, which must meet the Ministry of the Environment’s standards for facilities, staffing and care.
- Since June 1, 2021, a breeding female may be mated up to age six, or up to age seven if records show fewer than six litters, and may have no more than six litters in her lifetime.
- Dogs and cats under 56 days (eight weeks) old may not be sold or delivered.
- Since June 1, 2022, breeders and sellers must microchip dogs and cats and register them in the Ministry of the Environment’s database; a buyer must update the registration within 30 days.
- Every dog must also be registered with the municipality and vaccinated against rabies once a year, and imported dogs face strict quarantine rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules last checked: November 8, 2026
We checked this page against the official sources listed below on the date above. Rules can change after that date, and no single page can cover every situation, so something that matters to you may have been amended since, or may not be covered here at all. Before you rely on it, check these as well:
- Your prefecture or designated city: registration and inspections are handled locally; ask the animal welfare office how it applies the standards.
- The Ministry of the Environment’s standards: the numerical standards can be revised; check the current ordinance and guidance.
- Imports: the Animal Quarantine Service updates its requirements, including accepted microchip numbers; check before every import.
- Exports: sending a puppy abroad needs the destination’s own requirements — see export and international sales.
- Business obligations: a breeding business has registration and tax obligations of its own.
Check the current rules at the source before each breeding year and before any sale that is new to you, such as a first litter or a first buyer in another state or country. Ask the authority in writing when the answer matters, and keep a dated note of what you checked and what you were told.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Who must register
Under the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, businesses that sell, breed or otherwise handle animals for profit must be registered as Type I animal handling businesses. The 2019 amendment added grounds for refusing registration and gave the Ministry of the Environment power to set compliance standards by ordinance, covering the structure and size of facilities, the number of animals per employee and breeding methods. Sales must take place at the business premises. The general structure of breeding law is in laws, regulations and kennel clubs.
The numerical standards for breeding
The Ministry of the Environment’s standards, in force since June 1, 2021, set these limits for dogs kept by registered businesses:
- Age: a breeding female must be six or younger at mating, or seven or younger if the business can prove that she has had fewer than six litters by then.
- Litters: no more than six in a lifetime.
- Staff: one staff member may care for no more than 15 breeding dogs, or 20 dogs kept for sale or other purposes; mothers with their litters and retired breeding dogs at the facility are not counted.
- Records: the business must keep a breeding register showing each female’s age at mating, her lifetime litter count and the date breeding stopped, for five years. Without a complete register, the age-seven exception does not apply.
The Ministry’s guidance adds that animals kept for a year or more need an annual veterinary health check that includes an assessment of fitness for breeding, and that a dog the veterinarian judges unfit must not be bred, whatever her age or litter count. Only a veterinarian may perform a cesarean section; the business must keep the birth certificate and the veterinarian’s written assessment of the mother’s future fitness for breeding for five years, and a cesarean can end a dog’s breeding career if the veterinarian judges further breeding unsafe. Our article on litter limits and age rules compares these limits with other countries.
Selling a puppy
Under the amended Act, dogs and cats under 56 days old may not be sold or delivered. Since June 1, 2022, breeders and pet shops must fit a microchip to every dog and cat they sell and register it in the Ministry of the Environment’s database, which issues a registration certificate. After a purchase or any other change of owner, the new owner must update the registration within 30 days. Owners of dogs acquired in other ways are asked to make an effort to microchip them, but are not required to. Record each chip number in your kennel records.
Dog registration and rabies
Separately from the microchip system, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare says every dog owner must register the dog with the municipality where they live, have it vaccinated against rabies once a year, and attach both the dog license tag and the vaccination tag to the dog.
Imports and exports
Importing a dog takes months of preparation. According to the Animal Quarantine Service, a dog from a non-designated region needs a microchip, at least two rabies vaccinations given after the microchip, a rabies antibody test at a designated laboratory, and a wait of at least 180 days between the blood sample and arrival. The importer must notify the quarantine service at least 40 days before arrival, and the dog needs an official health certificate from the exporting country. A dog that does not meet the requirements can be held in quarantine for up to 180 days at the importer’s cost, or sent back. See exporting puppies and international sales for the practical steps.
What the kennel clubs say
The Japan Kennel Club (JKC) is Japan’s FCI-recognized registry. To register a litter, both parents must be at least 9 months and 1 day old at mating. The dam should generally be 6 or younger at mating, or 7 if she has had fewer than six litters, and she may have no more than six litters in her lifetime. Parent–offspring and full-sibling matings are registered only with a breeding plan approved by JKC in advance. Both parents need JKC DNA registration, and puppies from a bitch mated by more than one sire in the same season cannot be registered.
Source: JKC, puppy (litter) registration and JKC, basic knowledge on breeding (both in Japanese); FCI, International Breeding Rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules change, so always check with your own kennel club.
Not confirmed, but worth noting
- Exceptions to the 56-day rule. We did not confirm in the text we read whether any exceptions apply, so plan for 56 days as the minimum.
We could not confirm these points in the official text on the date checked, so treat them as questions to put to your authority, not as rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
In practice
A registered breeder in Japan plans the next year’s litters. Her oldest female turns seven in the spring, so she checks the breeding register: the bitch has had four litters, the record is complete, and the annual veterinary check has cleared her, so one more mating is allowed before she retires. The breeder also checks that each puppy’s microchip will be fitted and registered before the earliest delivery date at 56 days, and prepares a short note for buyers on updating the registration within 30 days.
(Illustrative, composite scenario.)
Work on it
A few minutes here will teach you more than re-reading the article.
Ask yourself
- Will any of my females reach six or seven before their next planned mating, and is my breeding register complete enough to use the age-seven exception?
- Do my staff numbers meet the ratios for breeding dogs and dogs for sale?
- Do my buyers know they must update the microchip registration within 30 days?
Find out & check
- Ask your prefecture’s animal welfare office which standards it inspects against and how it wants breeding registers kept.
Do one thing
- Bring each female’s breeding register up to date with her age, litters, cesareans and annual veterinary assessment.
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Sources & further reading
- Japanese Law Translation (Ministry of Justice) — Outline of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals (2019 amendment). japaneselawtranslation.go.jp
- Ministry of the Environment — overview of the ministerial ordinances on standards for animal handling businesses (in force June 1, 2021). env.go.jp
- Ministry of the Environment — guidance on breeding standards for animal handling businesses (pp. 41–44). env.go.jp
- Hokkaido Prefectural Government — Mandatory microchipping of dogs and cats. pref.hokkaido.lg.jp
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — Rabies (dog registration and vaccination). mhlw.go.jp
- Animal Quarantine Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries — Import of dogs from non-designated regions. maff.go.jp
- Fédération Cynologique Internationale — International Breeding Rules of the FCI. fci.be
Where evidence is limited, recommendations rest on established practice and expert judgment, and may be updated as knowledge develops. This is general information, not legal or financial advice: requirements differ between jurisdictions and change over time — confirm the current rules with the authority named here and have your own situation reviewed by a qualified professional where you breed.
Next steps
- Read next: Breeding and selling puppies in Singapore.
- Related: Breeding and selling puppies in Hong Kong · Pre-breeding regulatory checklist: what to confirm before you breed.
- Return to the area hub: Becoming a responsible breeder.