Japan: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025
← all origin reports · Japan: refusals and rates, last 3 years →
Japan was the origin of 310 of 22,156 US food import refusals in 2020–2025 (1.4%), ranking 15th of 146 origins. 51% were hazard findings and 49% paperwork alone. 23% concerned vegetables and vegetable products; the most-cited safety charge was unsafe color additive, and the most-cited paperwork charge not in English.
Every US food import refusal naming Japan as origin, 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2025. A refusal is one import entry, however many product lines it carried. Download every table (CSV).
Exporting from Japan? Get an email when shipments from Japan are refused at the US border — before your buyers ask.
One email a week, and only when something matches. We'll send a confirmation link first; unsubscribe any time from the footer of any email.
By year
| Year | Refusals | Share of US total | Rank among origins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 43 | 1.6% | 13 |
| 2021 | 40 | 1.4% | 11 |
| 2022 | 52 | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2023 | 62 | 1.8% | 11 |
| 2024 | 55 | 1.4% | 13 |
| 2025 | 58 | 1.0% | 17 |
| 2020–2025 | 310 | 1.4% | 15 |
Year links open that year's refusals, entry by entry.
Tables below show each year 2020–2025; cells are shaded against their row's own peak. Change compares 2025 with 2020 and is shown only where 2020 had at least 10 refusals ("new" where it had none).
Hazard or paperwork
A refusal is a hazard finding when any of its charges is a safety one — filth, pathogens, residues, contaminants, unsafe additives — and paperwork when every charge is labelling, registration or a missing filing. One citing only charge codes FDA has not published is unclassified.
| Year | Hazard findings | Paperwork only | Unclassified | Hazard share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 26 | 17 | 0 | 60.5% |
| 2021 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 50.0% |
| 2022 | 33 | 19 | 0 | 63.5% |
| 2023 | 33 | 29 | 0 | 53.2% |
| 2024 | 14 | 41 | 0 | 25.5% |
| 2025 | 33 | 25 | 0 | 56.9% |
| 2020–2025 | 159 | 151 | 0 | 51.3% |
By industry
| FDA industry | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables and Vegetable Products rates → Vegetables-other |
9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 72 (23.2%) | — |
| Candy Without Chocolate, Candy Specialties, and Chewing Gum rates → Candy |
12 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 69 (22.3%) | +8% |
| Fishery/Seafood Products rates → Fish-other · Shrimp-prawn · Squid-octopus · Tuna |
10 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 12 | 51 (16.5%) | +20% |
| Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Unconventional Dietary Specialties for Humans rates → Herbals-botanicals · Supplements |
4 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 36 (11.6%) | — |
| Bakery Products, Doughs, Bakery Mixes, and Icings | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 14 (4.5%) | — |
| Fruit and Fruit Products rates → Fruit-other · Stone-fruit |
0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 (4.2%) | — |
| Coffee and Tea | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 12 (3.9%) | — |
| Dietary Conventional Foods and Meal Replacements rates → | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 (3.9%) | — |
| Multiple Food Dinners, Gravies, Sauces, and Specialties (Total Diet) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 (1.9%) | — |
| Soups | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 (1.9%) | — |
| Soft Drinks and Waters | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1.6%) | — |
| Macaroni and Noodle Products | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 (1.3%) | — |
| Spices, Flavors, and Salts | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 (1.3%) | — |
| Baby (Infant and Junior) Food Products | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.6%) | — |
| Whole Grains, Milled Grain Products, and Starch | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.6%) | — |
| Nuts and Edible Seeds | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
| Vegetable Oils (Includes Olive Oil) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.3%) | — |
By charge group
A refusal citing charges in two groups counts once in each, so rows can add up to more than the total.
| Charge group | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling (paperwork) | 23 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 31 | 26 | 164 (52.9%) | +13% |
| Unsafe additives (hazard) | 19 | 11 | 18 | 21 | 8 | 25 | 102 (32.9%) | +32% |
| Process and registration (paperwork) | 12 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 72 (23.2%) | +50% |
| Listeria monocytogenes (hazard) | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 (5.2%) | — |
| Contaminants (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 (4.2%) | — |
| Filth and insanitary conditions (hazard) | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 (4.2%) | — |
| Undeclared allergens (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 (2.6%) | — |
| Pesticide residues (hazard) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1.6%) | — |
| Veterinary drug residues (hazard) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 (1.3%) | — |
| Salmonella (hazard) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1.0%) | — |
| Other charges (no group) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 (0.3%) | new |
Most-cited charges
FDA's own charge codes, with a plain-English label. Each is counted once per refusal.
Safety charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unsafe color additive UNSAFE COL |
18 | 11 | 18 | 19 | 7 | 23 | 96 | +28% |
Listeria monocytogenes LISTERIA |
6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | — |
lead PB-FOOD |
0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | — |
undeclared allergen ALLERGEN |
0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | — |
FD&C Yellow No. 5 undeclared YELLOW #5 |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — |
pesticide residue PESTICIDE |
0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — |
filth FILTHY |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — |
foreign object FOREIGN OB |
0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — |
poisonous or deleterious substance POISONOUS |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — |
unsafe food additive UNSAFE ADD |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — |
Paperwork charges
| Charge | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
not in English NO ENGLISH |
6 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 76 | — |
color not declared COLOR LBLG |
11 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 63 | +55% |
nutrition labeling NUTRIT LBL |
7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 37 | — |
ingredients not listed LIST INGRE |
5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 29 | — |
no process filing NO PROCESS |
6 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 29 | — |
HACCP failure MFRHACCP |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 24 | — |
no manufacturer name LACKS FIRM |
2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 18 | — |
no net quantity LACKS N/C |
2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 16 | — |
no food-canning registration NEEDS FCE |
5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 16 | — |
label not conspicuous INCONSPICU |
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 12 | — |
By month
Pooled across 2020–2025. Each row is shaded against its own peak, so its season shows whatever its size. Hazard findings peak in March; Paperwork only peak in November.
Hazard or paperwork
| Kind | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard findings | 16 | 12 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | March |
| Paperwork only | 7 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 23 | 15 | November |
By charge group
| Charge group | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labelling | 13 | 8 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 20 | 12 | November |
| Unsafe additives | 13 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | June |
| Process and registration | 4 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 8 | March |
| Listeria monocytogenes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | April |
| Contaminants | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | March |
Import divisions
The FDA division that handled the entry. DSWI and DNBI are the Mexican and Canadian land borders, so this says as much about the route as about the product.
| Division | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2020–2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DWCI — West Coast | 30 | 15 | 29 | 41 | 22 | 33 | 170 | +10% |
| DNEI — Northeast | 7 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 62 | — |
| DSEI — Southeast | 5 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 61 | — |
| DNBI — North Border, the Canadian land border | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | — |
| DSWI — Southwest, the Mexican land border | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | — |
Method
- Source: FDA Import Refusal Report (U.S. Food and Drug Administration); every food import refusal dated 2020–2025.
- Counts are import entries, not product lines. A refusal naming several origins counts once for each, so origin shares can add up to more than 100%.
- Charge groups are this site's grouping of FDA's charge codes; a code belongs to the first group that claims it, the same rule as the hazard pages.
- A charge is what FDA cited to refuse the entry, often on appearance or documents rather than a laboratory result. Counts depend on how often each product is examined, so they are not a rate of unsafe food.
- Licence: CC-BY-4.0. Cite as "Japan: FDA food import refusals, 2020–2025", fruit-risk.com, 2026-09-20, https://fdair.fruit-risk.com/reports/japan.html.
All origins together ·United Kingdom · Malaysia · Australia · All origin reports