International: Japan

At a glanceRequirements at a glance

Door-to-Door International Service Requires a Type 2 License, Not Just Type 1 Registration

Yes

Yes, where the mover itself arranges door-to-door export service. Type 1 Freight Forwarding Business (第一種貨物利用運送事業) is registration-only and covers port-to-port or airport-to-airport arrangement, where a separate party handles pickup and final delivery. A mover intending to provide door-to-door international service (arranging the ocean or air leg itself while also handling the household-goods truck pickup and delivery) needs the higher-bar Type 2 license (第二種貨物利用運送事業) for the relevant mode (ocean or international air).

This Law’s International Scope Is Limited to Export-Bound Freight

Japan’s Cargo Freight Forwarding Business Act only regulates (requires registration/licensing for) freight forwarding business related to exports from Japan. Import-bound and third-country freight forwarding are explicitly outside this law’s registration/licensing requirement.

Operating Through an Already-Licensed Type 2 Provider

A company can structure its service as “use of a use” (利用の利用), operating under a formal contractual relationship with an already Type 2-licensed provider, rather than obtaining its own Type 2 license. This is a recognized path to offering door-to-door international service without independently holding the license.

Reciprocity Restrictions Apply to Foreign-Owned Entities

Yes, as a condition of the license. For the ocean and international air Type 2 categories, Japan applies reciprocity-based restrictions: a foreign business entity (as defined by ownership, control, or incorporation outside Japan) faces market-entry restrictions if Japanese companies face equivalent restrictions entering that entity’s home country’s freight-forwarding market.

Officer Eligibility and Compliance History Requirements Apply

Yes, as conditions of the license. Company officers (including auditors) must not be subject to statutory disqualification, and the company must have no legal violations related to freight forwarding business within the past 5 years, confirmed via a sworn officer declaration.

Contract Terms for Ocean Forwarding

MLIT’s standard forwarding contract terms don’t cover Type 2 ocean shipping, so a Type 2 ocean forwarder uses either its own terms or an industry standard set (for example, the terms published by the Japan International Freight Forwarders Association, JIFFA, which are available to its members).

OverviewOverview & Scope

A mover that wants to provide door-to-door international relocation service itself (arranging the ocean or air leg rather than handing the shipment to an unrelated forwarder at the port or airport) needs a Type 2 Freight Forwarding Business license for the relevant mode, a higher bar than the registration-only Type 1 category that covers port-to-port or airport-to-airport arrangement alone. This licensing requirement, under Japan’s Cargo Freight Forwarding Business Act, applies to export-bound freight; import and third-country freight forwarding fall outside this law’s registration/licensing regime. A mover can instead operate under a formal contractual relationship with an already Type 2-licensed provider, in which case the provider’s license covers the service it performs. Foreign-owned movers should confirm reciprocity-based eligibility directly.

RegistrationRegistration & Compliance Essentials

Movers that arrange door-to-door international export service in their own name must:

1. Hold a Type 2 Freight Forwarding Business license for the relevant mode (ocean and/or international air), meeting the license conditions: officer eligibility, no freight-forwarding-related legal violations within the past 5 years, and, for foreign-owned entities, reciprocity-based eligibility.

Movers that route the ocean or air leg through an already-licensed Type 2 provider must:

2. Use providers that hold the licences required for the transport they perform.

ChecklistCompliance checklist

Company licensing

• Type 2 Freight Forwarding Business license held for ocean and/or international air (officer eligibility, 5-year compliance history and, for foreign-owned entities, reciprocity conditions met)Where applicable (mover itself arranges door-to-door export service)Verified by DocumentRequired

Subcontracted transport

• Where transport is subcontracted, the mover uses carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they performWhere applicableVerified by AffirmationRequired