Food allergies in Japan: what to confirm before ordering

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This guide outlines what can be verified and does not constitute medical advice. It cannot assess personal tolerances, allergy severity, or appropriate treatments.

Follow your clinician-agreed allergy emergency plan. If an ambulance is needed in Japan, call 119.

Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency says that, from 1 April 2026, cashew nuts moved into the mandatory specified-ingredient category for applicable container-packaged processed food. Under the two-year transition, the former rule may still be used for processed food other than business-use processed food manufactured, processed or imported by 31 March 2028, and for business-use processed food sold by that date. This is not a promise that every package already lists cashew nuts, nor a universal sell-through deadline.

The same 1 April 2026 notice added pistachio to the recommended, rather than mandatory, allergen list. The April 2026 lists contain 9 mandatory and 20 recommended items. A missing pistachio declaration is not proof that a product is safe for you.

During the transition period, the absence of "cashew nuts" on a package label does not guarantee the product is allergen-free. Even once fully phased in, packaging labels cannot assess individual medical risk or rule out unlisted trace contamination and batch variations. Check the exact package under the current Japanese guidance. The older English communication sheet does not reproduce the current Japanese item set, so this page does not turn it into a supposedly permanent complete list.

Packaged-food labelling rules do not make every restaurant menu an exhaustive allergen statement. The Consumer Affairs Agency's consumer tips says allergen-information provision for restaurants and food sold unpackaged at store counters is not legally required and is voluntary. That does not make missing information safe, and it does not classify every takeaway item the same way. Ask about the exact dish at the time you intend to order.

• the specified ingredient across all sauces, stocks, garnishes, and seasonings;
• ingredient swaps or recipe tweaks for that meal;
• shared fryers, cooking oil, grills, pans, utensils, and prep counters;
• supplier or pre-made ingredient details that the venue can reliably verify; and
• how the kitchen handles the request.

A provider may be able to confirm one fact and not another. Record the answered facts, but do not rename that partial result as “allergen-free”, “zero cross-contact” or “safe”.

1. A packaged snack at a convenience store

Cashew has been one of the 9 mandatory allergens on packaged food since 1 April 2026. Under the 2-year transition, though, food made, processed or imported by 31 March 2028 may still follow the old rule. A bag of mixed crackers made in February 2026 with no “カシューナッツ” (cashew) on the label is therefore not proof that it contains none. Pistachio, which can cross-react with cashew, is only a recommended item (one of 20), so a label may legally leave it out. Decision: if the label doesn't list ingredients clearly enough, buy something else.

2. Lunch at a curry restaurant

Allergen information in restaurants and for unpackaged counter food is voluntary in Japan (Consumer Affairs Agency), so a menu with no warning tells you nothing. Show the card below and ask about the dish's sauce and stock, and the shared fryer. If the answer is “I don't know”, order something else.

3. If you react

Follow the plan your doctor gave you. In an emergency, call 119 for an ambulance (see Japan emergency contacts).

Result: the label decision depends on two dates (1 April 2026 and 31 March 2028); the restaurant decision depends on one rule (disclosure is voluntary).

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Replace 〇〇 with your allergen in Japanese (lists below):

私は〇〇のアレルギーがあります。ごく少量でも症状が出ます。

この料理に〇〇は入っていますか？ソース、だし、調味料、揚げ油、調理器具も含めて確認していただけますか？

分からない場合は、注文をやめます。ご協力ありがとうございます。

(I have a 〇〇 allergy. Even a very small amount causes symptoms. Does this dish contain 〇〇? Could you check the sauce, stock, seasonings, frying oil and utensils too? If you're not sure, I won't order it. Thank you.)

Mandatory 9 (特定原材料): えび (shrimp), かに (crab), くるみ (walnut), 小麦 (wheat), そば (buckwheat), 卵 (egg), 乳 (milk), 落花生／ピーナッツ (peanut), カシューナッツ (cashew).

Recommended 20 (特定原材料に準ずるもの): アーモンド (almond), あわび (abalone), いか (squid), いくら (salmon roe), オレンジ (orange), キウイフルーツ (kiwi), 牛肉 (beef), ごま (sesame), さけ (salmon), さば (mackerel), 大豆 (soy), 鶏肉 (chicken), バナナ (banana), ピスタチオ (pistachio), 豚肉 (pork), マカダミアナッツ (macadamia), もも (peach), やまいも (yam), りんご (apple), ゼラチン (gelatin).

The lists follow the Consumer Affairs Agency's April 2026 handbook. The agency's older English communication sheet still shows cashew on the recommended side.

Checked on 11 October 2026

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1. Print the card above with your allergen filled in.
2. Save the Japanese word for your allergen from the lists above, so you can match it in the allergen box on packaged labels.
3. If your allergen is cashew, check the production date on packaged food: anything made before April 2028 may not list it.

The Consumer Affairs Agency provides an English food-allergy communication sheet, and a traveller may send an advance request. It is a communication aid, not a complete current allergen list and not a safety guarantee.

Vegetarian or vegan as well? See vegetarian and vegan food in Japan for the hidden fish stock (dashi) and a Japanese phrase card.

Those steps can help ask about selected ingredients, production lines and kitchen handling. They cannot prove that staff understood every point, that the message reached the kitchen, that the current recipe was checked, or that the kitchen can meet the request on the day.

If the responsible provider cannot answer a question that determines whether the meal is suitable, mark it as unresolved and do not guess the answer. Choose a different item or plan rather than filling the gap from a card, icon, directory or past review.

Staying at a ryokan? See booking your first ryokan for dinner times, diet requests, private baths and per-person prices.

The following remain Unknown unless the responsible current source confirms them for the exact item and time:

• the individual restaurant's recipe, substitutions and supplier;
• cross-contact via shared production lines, frying oil, utensils, and food-prep surfaces;
• whether staff understand your needs and communicate them accurately to the kitchen;
• same-day handling and emergency steps; and
• personal tolerance, severity and medical outcome.

For the wider access-chain decision, use Will Japan Work for Me?. This page stays narrower: it records what was confirmed before ordering.

This article does not classify a reaction or recommend treatment. For official emergency and visitor-help routes, use Japan emergency contacts. Medical-facility acceptance, language, route, price and payment remain Unknown until the responsible facility confirms them.

For quantity limits, permits and banned medicines, see bringing medication into Japan.

For policy questions, compare the boundaries in what Japan travel insurance should cover and whether you need travel insurance. Those articles do not guarantee an insurer result.