Act on Welfare and Management of Animals

Act No. 105 of 1973 · Ministry of the Environment

Japan’s foundational animal-welfare law, which licenses the businesses that breed, sell and board dogs and sets the duty to care for them properly.

01 What It Is

The Act on Welfare and Management of Animals (Act No. 105 of 1973) is Japan’s principal animal-welfare statute, administered by the Ministry of the Environment. It sets a general duty to keep animals in a safe and healthy, species-appropriate way, and builds a registration system around the businesses that handle them.

02 What It Covers

A person who runs a business handling animals, which covers selling, keeping, lending, training and exhibiting and so reaches dog breeders, dealers, boarders and pet shops, must obtain registration from the prefectural governor. Registration carries conditions on how animals are kept and handled, and the Act provides for record-keeping and for animals kept as dangerous to be subject to permits and enclosure standards.

03 How It Is Checked

Registration and oversight sit with the prefectural governments, which may inspect handling businesses, require reports and issue orders, and which administer the register. Enforcement is governmental rather than by independent certification.

04 Why It Matters

It is the law that makes Japan’s commercial dog trade a regulated activity rather than an open one. For a dog bred, sold or boarded in Japan, it is the framework that requires whoever handles it to be registered and accountable to the prefecture.

Common Questions

Is it mandatory?

Yes. It is Japan’s principal animal-welfare statute, Act No. 105 of 1973, setting a general duty to keep animals in a safe, healthy, species-appropriate way.

Who administers it?

The Ministry of the Environment sets the framework, and the prefectural governments administer the registration system and enforce it.

What does it cover?

A business handling animals, which includes selling, keeping, lending, training and exhibiting, must register with the prefectural governor. That reaches dog breeders, dealers, boarders and pet shops, and registration carries conditions on how animals are kept.

How is it checked?

The prefectures may inspect handling businesses, require reports and issue orders, and they administer the register. Enforcement is governmental rather than by independent certification.

Who does it apply to?

Everyone keeping animals in Japan through the general duty, and specifically the commercial businesses that must register.

Why does it matter?

It makes Japan’s commercial dog trade a regulated activity rather than an open one, requiring whoever breeds, sells or boards a dog to be registered and accountable to the prefecture.

Primary sources

Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, official English translationjapaneselawtranslation.go.jp