Dear Valued Customer,

The Revised Plant Protection Law and Enforcement Regulations stipulate that used agricultural machinery imported to Japan, to which plant quarantine provisions did not previously apply, will henceforth be designated as subject to plant quarantine. The new law will take effect April 1, 2023 and will be enforced by the Japan Plant Protection Station in cooperation with the Japan Customs Office.

As a result, measures (1) through (4) below must be implemented for used agricultural machinery imported to Japan on or after April 1, 2023:

• An inspection certificate (Phytosanitary Certificate) issued by the government agency of the exporting country must be attached.
• Used agricultural machinery must be cleaned and free of soil, plant debris, and quarantine pests.
  A note must be added to the inspection certificate certifying that no soil or plant debris is present.
• The importation must be made at ports specified in the Plant Protection Law Enforcement Regulations.
• The Plant Protection Station must be notified at the time of importation and the machinery must undergo an import inspection.

In particular, items (1) and (2) are to be handled by the exporting country.

Please note that importation will not be approved by Japan government authorities if the imported used agricultural machinery is not accompanied by an inspection certificate to which the additional note referred to in item (2) is appended.

Sincerely,
ZIM Customer Service