Japan tightens cannabis controls and arrests first tourists for use

TokyoJapan is beginning to open up about drugs: the country is further tightening its zero-tolerance policy on narcotics. Since last December, consuming marijuana is no longer just a social taboo or a legal gray area: it's a criminal offense. At the end of March, Tokyo police arrested two people for the first time—a 44-year-old man and a woman—accused of using cannabis after failing a urine test.

While in Europe or the United States, smoking marijuana may be seen as a recreational or cultural practice, in Japan it can end with immediate arrest, trial, imprisonment, and eventually deportation. The Japanese judicial system allows a person to be detained for up to 23 days without formal charges, with limited access to a lawyer and restricted communications. Furthermore, a drug arrest can result in a ban on future entry into the country and affect visa status. If the arrested person works for a company or studies at a university, the authorities will notify these entities of the arrest.

Police found traces of marijuana in the vehicle in which the arrested individuals were traveling, and after testing, both admitted to having used it. This case, which took place on March 31, marks a turning point: it is the first time that consumption has been punished thanks to a legal reform that came into effect on December 12, 2024. Until then, the Japanese Penal Code provided for severe penalties for possession, cultivation, or trafficking, but did not explicitly sanction consumption. A historic legal loophole originally intended to protect industrial hemp farmers.

Faced with the increase in cases among young people and the massive influx of tourists with a more permissive view of cannabis, the Japanese government has opted to tighten legislation. For foreign visitors—especially Europeans accustomed to more flexible regulations—the change can be difficult to understand: in Japan, smoking marijuana can carry a prison sentence of up to seven years. A positive urine test—which authorities can conduct after a police check or pretrial detention—can be enough to open a criminal case. The severity of the penalties in Japan contrasts with the trend toward decriminalization and regulation of consumption that is advancing in many European countries.

More controls in Tokyo

Japanese police have stepped up controls in Tokyo neighborhoods most frequented by foreigners in recent weeks. What many tourists don't know is that, since the legal reform, it's also a crime to have used marijuana abroad if the urine test comes back positive once in Japan. "It's a crime," says an officer who prefers to remain anonymous. Although the law applies equally to everyone, visitors from countries where cannabis is decriminalized are now under special scrutiny.

The police say they see more cases at festivals, nightclubs, or tourist neighborhoods, where "some." "Here, cannabis is neither culture, nor tradition, nor fashion: it's an illegal drug, and the consequences can be very serious," he warns.

One of the most high-profile cases has been that of Australian athlete and YouTuber Matt Fox, founder of the Sweat Elite channel, with more than 144,000 subscribers. Fox was arrested in Osaka on April 9, accused of attempting to smuggle THC tablets, the active ingredient in cannabis, into the country via an international courier service. According to police, the shipment left the United States in February, but Fox wasn't arrested until his arrival in Japan for his participation in the 2025 Osaka Marathon. Fox had publicly admitted to using THC gummies to treat anxiety and improve sleep.

He was detained and held incommunicado for weeks.

Most of the more than 8,000 arrests related to marijuana trafficking or possession that occurred in Japan in 2023 involved Japanese citizens or foreign residents, but an increase in cases involving tourists is beginning to be detected. "Most visitors are unaware of the severity of the Japanese criminal justice system," explains a European embassy official who prefers to remain anonymous. "Those detained are often deeply shocked by the lack of contact with the outside world, the rigidity of the interrogations, and the lack of an interpreter. Pretrial detention can last up to 23 days without formal charges, something unthinkable in many European countries," he says.

According to this consular official, it is common to receive calls from desperate families when they discover that their son or daughter has disappeared and has been arrested. "Here, they can be detained for days or weeks without a telephone, without visits, and subjected to daily interrogations. Some end up signing confessions under pressure that they can't later rectify. And by the time they contact us, the damage is often done," he laments. "A simple leek eaten before traveling can end with a deportation order or a prison sentence. Japan doesn't act with a logic of proportionality, but with a strategy of total deterrence. The message is clear: zero tolerance," he concludes.