Japan Allergen Labeling Rules 2026: Restaurants and Takeout

Products in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores have allergen labels. So many visitors assume that food in Japan is labeled wherever you buy it or eat it. In fact, labels are required only on processed food sold in a container or package. Japan’s labels also have a level of their own: “recommended.” This article explains both lines before your trip.

What food has to show allergens in Japan?

Japan’s food allergy labeling is set by the Food Labeling Standards, under the Food Labeling Act. The labeling duty covers processed food in a container or package. Examples are bagged snacks, packed side dishes and bottled drinks sold in supermarkets, convenience stores and station kiosks.

In this article, “labeling duty” means the duty to show allergens. The ingredient list is set by the same standards, but its scope is a little different. Only one difference matters for travelers. Food such as a bento that a shop makes, packs and sells in the same shop does not need an ingredient list, but it must show allergens. So you may find an allergen label on a product with no ingredient list.

Even on a small package with a label area of 30 cm² or less, allergens cannot be left out. Some additives do not need to be listed, such as processing aids and carry-over additives. But if they contain a mandatory allergen, the allergen must still be shown. Where allergens can hide inside compound ingredients and additives is explained in hidden allergens on Japanese food labels.

Mandatory vs recommended allergens: Japan’s two levels

Japanese labels have two levels.

Cashew became mandatory on April 1, 2026, with a transition period until March 31, 2028. Pistachio was added to the recommended list on the same day.

Many products do show the 20 recommended items. But if a maker decides not to, they are not shown. No label does not mean the food is free of them. If you are allergic to soy, sesame, salmon or nuts, read not only the allergen part of the label but the whole ingredient list, to the end.

Among the countries and regions we compared, Japan was the only one with a “recommended” list on top of its mandatory list. In the others, the listed items must be labeled. (In China, allergen labeling itself is now only recommended. It becomes mandatory in March 2027.) To see how your own country’s labels look in Japan, use our country-by-country allergen chart.

We could not prove a recommended item was not in our food

At WE TABLE, we once tested a bento business for companies, called WE TABLE BOX. (It is not taking orders now.) The hardest problem was that we could not prove a recommended item was not in the food. I describe how we traced ingredients from each maker back to its suppliers in hidden allergens on Japanese food labels.

Takeout and restaurants: no label is not a violation

Outside packaged food, the labeling duty ends. Here is how it works, by the way the food is sold.

If a restaurant packs dishes in advance and sells them in the package, they need a label. But for food you eat in the restaurant, there is no duty to show allergens on the menu. The Consumer Affairs Agency says restaurants should ideally share this information on their menus, and more chain restaurants now have allergen charts. But this is each restaurant’s own choice.

What to watch for, even when there is a label

• Recommended items may be missing: as explained above.
• Cross-contact warnings are voluntary: notes such as 「本品製造工場では〜を含む製品を生産しています」 (“this factory also makes products containing …”) are voluntary. No warning does not mean there is no cross-contact. Labels saying an allergen “may be included” are not allowed.
• Alcohol is not covered: alcoholic drinks have no allergen labeling duty, even if they use wheat, milk or other allergens. For drinks, see which alcohol in Japan may contain gluten.
• For gluten, only wheat is labeled: barley, rye and oats are not on Japan’s allergen lists (see barley, rye and oats in Japan).

Japan vs other countries: allergen labels on packaged food and in restaurants

The red marks show where you may not get allergen information. As explained above, Japan’s recommended items may not be shown.

To compare the exact items country by country, see our allergen chart.

Japanese phrases to ask in shops and restaurants

Where there is no label, the only way is to ask.

For how to explain your allergy in a restaurant, see how to explain food allergies at restaurants in Japan.