How to Order Medicine on Amazon Japan — English Guide
Some medicines on Amazon Japan require a health questionnaire and pharmacist review before your order ships. Abuse-prevention medicines also need ID verification. Two flows, all screens translated into English.
In Japan, the rules around buying medicine don't disappear just because you're shopping online. Pharmacies are legally required to have a licensed pharmacist guide you through certain purchases — whether you're at a physical counter or clicking through Amazon.
When you add one of these medicines to your cart, a real pharmacist reviews your order before it ships. The questionnaire isn't a formality — the questions are the same checks a pharmacist would run through with you in person. This guide explains what those checks are, why they're being asked, and what to expect after you place your order.
There Are Two Different Checkout Flows
What you'll see at checkout depends on the type of medicine in your cart. Japanese law requires pharmacists to verify certain medicines even for online sales.
| Medicine type | Japanese | What triggers on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | 第1類医薬品 | Questionnaire + medicine explanation + pharmacist review (no ID) |
| Abuse-prevention designated | 指定濫用防止医薬品 | Japanese ID required + questionnaire + medicine explanation + pharmacist review |
| Class 2 / Class 2s / Class 3 | 第2類 / 指定第2類 / 第3類 | No extra steps — order normally |
Jump to the section that applies to your medicine:
How to Tell Which Flow Applies to You
- 📦 Check the product title on Amazon. It shows the drug class in brackets — e.g. 【第1類医薬品】 or 【指定第2類医薬品】.
- 🪪 If checkout asks you to upload an ID — that's the abuse-prevention flow, regardless of what class label the product page shows.
- ✅ Class 2, Class 2s, and Class 3 medicines require no extra steps. Some Class 2s medicines (e.g. cold medicines containing dihydrocodeine) are also abuse-prevention designated and will ask for ID.
- 🔍 Not sure? Check the product on OTC Guide Japan — each product page shows the drug class and whether it's abuse-prevention designated.
Ordering Abuse-Prevention Medicine
指定濫用防止医薬品 — e.g. Pabron Gold A, Lulu Attack EX
These medicines require 3 steps before your order ships: ID verification → health questionnaire → medicine explanation and confirmation.
⚠️ What You'll Need
- ✅ An Amazon Japan account
- ✅ A Japanese delivery address
- ✅ For abuse-prevention designated medicines: a Japanese ID — either a My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) or a Japanese driver's license. Foreign driver's licenses are not accepted.
- 🔵 For Class 1 medicines: no ID required, but a product-specific questionnaire, medicine explanation, and pharmacist review apply before your order ships.
📋 What's Actually Happening
When you buy certain medicines at a physical Japanese pharmacy, the pharmacist doesn't just hand them over. They check your symptoms, what else you're taking, and whether you've been buying the same product elsewhere. They're deciding whether this medicine is appropriate for you.
Amazon is required by law to replicate that process. A licensed pharmacist — or registered salesperson — reads your questionnaire answers and makes the same call, just remotely. Here's what that means in practice:
- ⏳ Your order won't ship immediately. The pharmacist has to approve it first. The delivery date shown at checkout may shift.
- 📧 You may be contacted. If your answers raise a concern, Amazon-fulfilled orders will receive an email titled "医薬品に関する適正使用確認のお知らせ". Third-party seller orders may receive a phone call to your registered address.
- ❌ Your order may be cancelled. If the pharmacist determines the medicine isn't appropriate for your situation, the order is cancelled — the same decision they'd make at a physical counter.
- ✅ In most cases, orders go through without any contact. Answer honestly, buy for a legitimate reason, and the pharmacist approves the order and it ships.
Step 1: Age Verification (年齢確認)
This screen appears when your cart contains an abuse-prevention designated medicine (指定濫用防止医薬品). You need to upload a photo of your Japanese ID before you can proceed.
What the screen says:
マイナンバーカード/運転免許証が必要
→ A My Number Card or driver's license is required.
Upload a photo of the front side only. If using a My Number Card, do not show the back (it contains your individual number).
Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF — under 5MB.
Tap アップロード to upload your ID, then tap 次に進む (Next) to continue.
Step 2: Health Questionnaire — STEP 1/2 (確認事項)
This is where most people get stuck — a form in Japanese with up to 10 questions. But once you understand what the pharmacist is checking for, the questions make sense. They're looking at your age, your health situation, what else you're taking, and whether you might be buying more than you should. Here's every question translated, with a note on what each one is actually checking.
Answer all questions honestly.
Your answers are reviewed by a licensed pharmacist. Providing false information may result in your order being cancelled — and more importantly, could put your health at risk.
🚫 下記いずれかが該当する場合は購入しないでください
Do not purchase if any of the following apply to you:
- You have previously had an allergic reaction to this medicine or its ingredients
- You are using this medicine on a long-term continuous basis
商品ページに記載された商品の説明を読み、説明通りにご使用いただくことをご了承いただけますか？
Have you read the product description and do you agree to use it as directed?
✅ Select: 了承したうえで注文します (I agree and will order)
ご使用者様の年齢
Age of the person who will use this medicine.
✅ Enter your age (you must be 18 or older)
ご使用者様の性別
Gender of the user.
✅ Select: 男性 (Male) or 女性 (Female)
症状または使用目的
Symptoms or purpose of use.
✅ Select the matching option:
- • かぜの諸症状（せき、たん、のどの痛み、くしゃみ、鼻みず、鼻づまり、悪寒、発熱、頭痛、関節の痛み、筋肉の痛み）
→ Cold symptoms (cough, phlegm, sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, congestion, chills, fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain) - • 上記に当てはまらない → None of the above
治療中の疾患はありますか？
Are you currently being treated for any medical condition?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
Some conditions make certain OTC medicines unsuitable or risky. If you answer yes, the pharmacist may contact you to check before approving the order.
ご使用中の医薬品はありますか？
Are you currently taking any medicines?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
OTC medicines can interact with prescription drugs. This check is the same one a pharmacist would do at the counter.
アレルギーや医薬品による副作用経験はありますか？
Have you ever had an allergic reaction or side effects from a medicine?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
Past reactions to a medicine or its ingredients can signal risk with this one. The pharmacist uses this to flag potential issues.
同時期に同じ医薬品もしくは類似薬を他店で購入しましたか？
Have you recently purchased the same or a similar medicine from another store?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
These medicines are limited to 1 per person. This question checks for duplicate purchases across stores — both physical and online. Buying the same type of medicine from multiple sources at once is a red flag the pharmacist is trained to catch.
本品は、指定濫用防止医薬品に該当します。原則「おひとり様１個まで」の販売となります。ご了承いただけますか？
This product is an abuse-prevention designated medicine, limited to 1 per person. Orders of multiple quantities may be cancelled. Do you agree?
✅ Select: 了承したうえで注文します (I agree and will order)
ご提出いただく確認事項は薬剤師・登録販売者が確認を行い、ご連絡をさせていただく場合や販売不可と判断した場合はご注文をキャンセルさせていただくことがございます。ご了承いただけますか？
A pharmacist or registered salesperson will review your answers. They may contact you, and if they determine the sale is inappropriate, your order may be cancelled. Do you agree?
✅ Select: 了承したうえで注文します (I agree and will order)
Tap 提出 (Submit) when all questions are answered.
Step 3: Medicine Explanation — STEP 2/2
⚠️ Don't just click through this screen.
This page explains why these medicines are restricted in the first place. It's the written equivalent of what a pharmacist would tell you face-to-face before handing over the medicine. Read it.
After submitting the questionnaire, you'll see a long page in Japanese. Here's what's on it.
The page opens with この医薬品のご注文についての注意事項 — important notes about your order:
● Your order will not ship until a pharmacist or registered salesperson has confirmed appropriate use. The delivery date shown at checkout may change.
● If the specialist determines the medicine is not being used appropriately, your order will be cancelled.
● For Amazon-fulfilled orders: Based on your answers, a pharmacist may contact you directly. If you receive an email titled 「医薬品に関する適正使用確認のお知らせ」, follow the instructions to receive an explanation from the specialist. If the confirmation is not completed within the set period, all medicines in your order will be cancelled.
● For third-party seller orders: A specialist may call the phone number registered to your delivery address. Make sure the number on your account is correct. If the confirmation is not completed within the set period, all medicines in your order will be cancelled.
● If you are purchasing for someone else: Be careful not to include information that identifies the actual user or your relationship with them. Providing sensitive health information (such as medical history) requires the user's own consent.
Below those ordering notes, the screen continues with the medicine-specific explanation. This is the part that explains why these medicines are restricted in the first place:
🧠 Why these medicines are restricted
Abuse-prevention designated medicines contain ingredients — such as codeine, dihydrocodeine, and pseudoephedrine — that affect the central nervous system. At normal doses they suppress coughs or relieve congestion. But misuse or overdose can cause nervous system excitation or suppression, and in serious cases, hallucinations. This is why Japan places strict limits on how much you can buy and requires a pharmacist to approve every sale.
🏪 The rule on buying from multiple stores
The screen explicitly states that purchasing the same type of medicine in large quantities — across Amazon, other online stores, or physical drugstores — is prohibited. This is exactly what the pharmacist checks against your questionnaire answers.
📋 Usage precautions
Dosage limits, warnings about combining with alcohol or other medicines, and what to do if symptoms don't improve. These apply directly to your purchase.
At the bottom of the page, select one of two options:
お薬の説明を理解しました。専門家への質問もありません。
→ I have read and understood the medicine explanation. I have no questions for a pharmacist.
✅ Select this once you've read through the explanation and are ready to proceed
専門家への質問があります。
→ I have a question for a pharmacist.
Select this if you want the pharmacist to contact you with further explanation before the order ships.
Tap 次へ進む (Next) to continue to checkout. On the final order screen, you'll see a yellow confirmation box — check the box and tap 注文を確定する (Place Order) to complete your order.
Ordering Class 1 Medicine
第1類医薬品 — e.g. Loxonin S, Empecid L
Class 1 medicines use a similar flow but no ID verification is required. You'll go directly to a health questionnaire, then the medicine explanation screen, then place your order.
Step 1: Health Questionnaire (確認事項 — STEP 1/2)
Unlike abuse-prevention medicines, there is no ID upload screen. You go straight to the questionnaire. The questions are product-specific — the number and content vary depending on the medicine you're buying. The example below is for Loxonin S (a pain reliever). The pharmacist reviewing your answers is checking the same things they'd check at a physical pharmacy: whether this medicine is suitable for your health situation, and whether you might be buying more than you should.
Answer all questions honestly.
Your answers are reviewed by a licensed pharmacist. Providing false information may result in your order being cancelled — and more importantly, could put your health at risk.
🚫 下記いずれかが該当する場合は購入しないでください
Do not purchase if any of the following apply:
- You have been told by a doctor that you have a blood disorder (anemia, poor clotting, low white blood cells, etc.)
- You are currently being treated for a stomach/duodenal ulcer, liver disease, kidney disease, or heart disease
Note: These warnings are specific to Loxonin S. Other Class 1 medicines will show different contraindications.
年齢 / 性別
Age and gender of the person who will use this medicine.
✅ Enter your age. Select 男性 (Male) or 女性 (Female).
どのような症状に使用しますか？
What symptoms are you using this medicine for?
✅ Select the option that matches your symptoms:
- 頭痛・月経（生理）痛→ Headache / Menstrual pain
- 肩こり→ Stiff shoulders
- 腰痛→ Lower back pain
- 関節痛・神経痛・筋肉痛→ Joint pain / Nerve pain / Muscle pain
- 骨折痛・ねんざ痛・打撲痛→ Fracture pain / Sprain / Bruise
- 歯痛・抜歯後の疼痛・咽頭痛・耳痛→ Toothache / Post-extraction pain / Sore throat / Ear pain
- 外傷痛の鎮痛→ Pain relief for injuries
- 悪寒・発熱時の解熱→ Fever / Chills
- 上記の症状に当てはまらない→ None of the above
複数の種類の解熱剤、鎮痛剤、頭痛薬をご注文いただいた場合は、注文をキャンセルさせていただく場合がございます。ご了承いただいたうえでご注文ください。
If you are ordering multiple types of fever reducers, pain relievers, or headache medicines at the same time, your order may be cancelled. Please place your order only after acknowledging this.
✅ Select: 了承したうえで注文します。(I acknowledge and will order)
⚠️ If you select 了承しません。(I do not acknowledge), you will not be able to proceed.
2週間以内に解熱剤、鎮痛剤、頭痛薬を購入されていますか
Have you purchased any fever reducers, pain relievers, or headache medicines within the past 2 weeks?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
解熱剤、鎮痛剤、頭痛薬のご購入状況によってはご注文をキャンセルさせていただく場合がございます。ご了承いただけますでしょうか。
Depending on your purchase history of fever reducers, pain relievers, or headache medicines, your order may be cancelled. Do you agree?
✅ Select: はい (Yes)
医薬品によるアレルギーや副作用経験はありますか？
Have you ever experienced an allergic reaction or side effects from any medicine?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
解熱剤・鎮痛剤・頭痛薬を使用したことがありますか？
Have you used fever reducers, pain relievers, or headache medicines before?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
医療機関を受診していますか？または医療機関を受診していないが、現在かかっている病気、使用している医薬品(市販薬含む）はありますか？
Are you currently seeing a doctor? Or, even if not seeing a doctor, do you have any current illness or medicines you are taking (including OTC medicines)?
✅ Select: はい (Yes) or いいえ (No)
薬剤師への質問・伝達事項 — Questions for the pharmacist
Do you have any questions or messages for the pharmacist?
✅ Select: 薬剤師に質問・伝達事項はありません (No questions)
薬剤師確認への同意 — Consent to pharmacist review
A pharmacist will review your answers and may contact you by email.
✅ Select: 了承したうえで注文します
Tap 提出 (Submit) when all questions are answered.
Step 2: Medicine Explanation — STEP 2/2
📋 Read this before selecting.
This page contains the key information about the medicine — what it treats, what you must not do while taking it, and when to stop. It's what a pharmacist would go over with you at the counter.
Here's a full translation of what the screen says (example: Loxonin S — other Class 1 medicines will show different content):
👨⚕️ Consult a doctor, dentist, or pharmacist before use if you: (次の人は服用前にご相談ください)
・病院に受診中の人
→ Are under medical treatment
・妊婦又は妊娠している可能性がある人
→ Are pregnant or possibly pregnant
・授乳中の人
→ Are breastfeeding
・６５才以上の人
→ Are 65 years of age or older
・過去にお薬が合わず、湿疹等の症状が出たことがある人
→ Have previously had an allergic reaction (e.g. rash) to any medicine
・気管支ぜんそく・潰瘍性大腸炎・クローン病・全身性エリテマトーデス・混合性結合組織病のいずれかと診断されたことがある人
→ Have been diagnosed with asthma, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, lupus (SLE), or mixed connective tissue disease
💊 Dosage (服用する際に注意すること)
症状があらわれた時、次の量を、なるべく空腹時をさけて水又はお湯で服用して下さい。
→ Take the following dose when symptoms appear. Try to avoid taking on an empty stomach. Take with water or lukewarm water.
■ 15歳以上：1回量 1錠、1日服用回数 2回まで。ただし、再度症状があらわれた場合には3回目を服用できます。（服用間隔は4時間以上あけてください）
→ Age 15 and over: 1 tablet per dose, up to 2 times per day. If symptoms return, a 3rd dose may be taken. Leave at least 4 hours between doses.
■ 15歳未満：服用しないで下さい。
→ Under 15: do not use.
🚫 While taking this medicine
■ 服用中は他の解熱鎮痛薬、かぜ薬、鎮静薬の服用はしないでください。
→ Do not take other pain relievers, cold medicines, or sedatives at the same time.
■ 服用前後は飲酒しないで下さい。
→ Do not drink alcohol before or after taking this medicine.
■ 効能効果に記載されている症状以外で服用はしないでください。
→ Do not use for symptoms other than those listed in the indications below.
📋 Indications (効能・効果)
○頭痛・月経痛（生理痛）・歯痛・抜歯後の疼痛・咽喉痛・腰痛・関節痛・神経痛・筋肉痛・肩こり痛・耳痛・打撲痛・骨折痛・ねんざ痛・外傷痛の鎮痛
→ Pain relief: headache, menstrual pain, toothache, post-extraction pain, sore throat, lower back pain, joint pain, nerve pain, muscle pain, stiff shoulders, ear pain, bruises, fractures, sprains, injuries
○悪寒・発熱時の解熱
→ Fever reduction for chills and fever
⚠️ After taking — when to stop (服用後に注意すること)
1〜2回服用しても症状がよくならない場合や3〜5日間服用しても痛み等の症状が繰り返される場合や副作用が現れた場合、すぐに服用を中止し、医師の診療を受けてください。医薬品のため、副作用が現れる可能性がございます。
→ If symptoms do not improve after 1–2 doses, or if symptoms recur after 3–5 days of use, or if side effects appear — stop immediately and see a doctor. Side effects are possible with this medicine.
＊必ず同封されているお薬の説明書をご確認の上、服用してください。
→ Always read the package insert included with the medicine before use.
At the bottom of the page, select one of two options:
お薬の説明を理解しました。専門家への質問もありません。
→ I have read and understood the medicine explanation. I have no questions for a pharmacist.
✅ Select this to proceed
専門家への質問があります。
→ I have a question for a pharmacist.
Select this if you want the pharmacist to contact you before the order ships.
Tap 次へ進む (Next) to continue to checkout.
Step 3: Final Checkout
The final checkout screen for Class 1 medicines is the same as a regular purchase — there is no abuse-prevention checklist. Simply confirm your order details and tap 注文を確定する (Place Order).
No 3-item checklist — just tap 注文を確定する to place your order.
Looking for the medicine to order?
OTC Guide Japan has translated the ingredients, dosage, and warnings for 200+ Japanese medicines into English — including Pabron Gold A.
See Pabron Gold A →