Is Memantine legal in Japan?
- Legal status
- Memantine is a prescription medicine (yoshohosen-iyakuhin), not a controlled drug: it was approved by the PMDA/MHLW in 2010 under the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Act and is not listed under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act.
- Consequences if caught
- Memantine carries no narcotics-control penalty; supply outside the prescription channel is a pharmaceuticals-law matter only.
- If prescribed or medical
- Prescribed for moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's-type dementia (marketed as Memary).
- Documentation
- Memantine's approval is documented in the PMDA Report on the Deliberation Results; dispensed as a prescription medicine and carried lawfully with a prescription.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Japan’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →