Mission Statement

The mission of the Customs Department is to maintain legitimate trade and ensure the sound development of society in globalized economy and advanced international distribution. Realizing a safe and secure society, appropriate and fair collection of duties and taxes and facilitating trade procedures are essential components of our main purpose. 

Realizing a safe and secure society

In order to secure people’s security and safety, and maintain economic and social order in Japan, Japan Customs puts preventing the inflow of illegal goods at the border as one of its top priorities. These include; illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cannabis, firearms, terrorism-related materials threatening the people’s security and safety, as well as goods infringing upon intellectual property rights and forged credit cards which impede the sound development of the economy. Customs actively carry out various controlling measures to accomplish this mission.

Appropriate and Fair collection of Duties and Taxes

Customs collects duties and domestic consumption tax on import cargoes and travelers’ hand-carry baggage brought into Japan. These duties and consumption tax totaled around ¥8.9 trillion in FY 2014, which is nearly equivalent to 15% of the total national tax revenue. Customs ensures that duties and taxes are collected in an appropriate and fair manner. 

Futher Facilitating Trade Procedures

Amidst the higher volume of global trade and growing importance of supply chain management, a major task in international distribution is to simultaneously ensure security and facilitation of trade. In order to achieve this, Japan Customs has been implementing an AEO program to provide benefits such as trade facilitation to operators with a system to ensure compliance including cargo security.