From: hank@westford.ccur.com (Hank Cohen)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Gifts from America to Japan [SUMMARY]
Date: 6 Jan 93 08:33:26 GMT
Organization: Concurrent Computer Corp.  Westford, MA

In article <1idvrjINN180@shelley.u.washington.edu> yoichi@carson.u.washington.edu (Yoichi Ii) writes:
>dali@stein.u.washington.edu (David A. Lee) writes:
>>        *beef/buffalo jerky for those who drink
>
>Is it OK now to bring back jerkies?  I think it used to be forbidden.

Beef Jerkey is definitely OK if you buy the omiyage packs at the
airport.  Any other meat product requires an agricultural inspection
certificate.  This is easy to get from the Dept. of Agriculture
Inspector at the Airport Customs office.  The meat product must say on
the package where it was produced.  If it was produced in the US you
won't have any problem getting the certificate which states that there
is no Hoof & Mouth disease in the US.

>How about seeds of some herbs plants (eg cilantro)? Would these be illegal?
Not sure about this.  Commercial seed packages are probably OK though.

>Someone told me staple remover was unusual in Japan. Is this still true?

They are unusual but standard US staples are bigger than Japanese
staples so a US staple remover won't woork very well.

>>        *nuts in shells  (YES, almonds and pecans etc.)
>
>Again, would these be OK through the custom in Japan?

I suspect not unless they are roasted since Almonds and Walnuts often
have worms.

>Giant chocolate bars (those 1 lbs Hersheys) seem to impress people.
>"Iyaa!, sasuga Amerika saizu desu nee ..."[1]  :-)

The size will impress people but the quality of Hershey's chocolate
will not.  Japanese chocolate is much better.  However a bag full of
mini-snickers bars would probably be a big hit.

>
>	*magazines
>	         With the new law, I suppose one can bring back certain
>	         magazines if someone requested.  Fortunately no one's
>	         asked me.  Of course, I wouldn't have the guts to bring 
>	         it back even if there were requests ...
>
>		 Customs Officer: "Ahh, kou iu zasshi omochi kaeri desu ka ..."
>	 	 Me: "Ahaha, chotto tomodachi ga ... ano, chotto sonna ni 
>                      misebirakasa naide ..."[2]   (^_^;

I figure it's a question of odds.  If you carry "pornography" it will
be confiscated if they catch you.  Japanese citizens are much more
likely to be searched than Americans in my experience.  Apparently the
customs folks have VCRs in the back room to see if the video is really
Babes in Toyland or Debbie Does Dallas.  Anyway Debbie Does Dallas is
sure to be a big hit with certain segments of the male population.
It's definitely something that you can't buy in Japan.  The punishment
is limited to confiscation and possibly having to write a "gomen
nasai letter" to the head of the Tokyo customs office.  They won't
revoke your visa or deport you unless they have reason to believe that
you are smuggling for re-distribution or sale.  This is probably a
matter of quantity.  1 or 2 videos won't get you in much trouble but
10 or 20 might. BTW Madonna's book can be imported but they will black
out certain "offensive" bits.  

This is actually an interesting subject of discussion.  
In a recent ruling the Tokyo High Court ruled that it
was not illegal to import erotica for personal use but the Customs
people still confiscate it if they find it.  What's going on?  Aren't
customs regulations subject to judicial review?
-- 
Hank Cohen
Concurrent Nippon Corp.  	Shuwa yanagibashi Bldg. 5F
Yanagibashi 2-19-6 Taito-ku 	Tokyo 111, Japan
Denwa: 03-3864-5714 	Fax: 03-3864-0898