Before you fish

Under the Act on the Regulation of Fishing Operations by Foreign Nationals (Act No. 60 of 1967), recreational fishing by foreign nationals in Japanese waters is limited to 'gathering or catching of aquatic animals or plants on a minor scale'. What you may use depends on the size of the boat you are on.

On a vessel of 3 gross tons or more, a foreign national may fish ONLY when the trip is run by a Japanese vessel under the control of a Japanese fisher — that is, a registered charter (yugyosen) or fishing boat. Most serious offshore boats are over 3 GT, so for offshore fishing a licensed Japanese guide is not a convenience. It is the law.

Up to 3 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to ¥30,000,000, or both — for breaching the gear and method rules that apply specifically to foreign nationals.

The Fisheries Agency's own English flyer names gaffs, basket traps and gill nets as examples of gear that breaks the law. Anything not expressly permitted is prohibited.

The flyer asks foreign nationals to use shared fishing charters registered with the prefecture. Pleasure boating is limited to vessels under 3 gross tons, and casting a net from a boat is never permitted.

Holders of Permanent Resident and equivalent residence statuses are not treated as 'foreign nationals' under these Acts.

Trolling is permitted only in sea areas and periods designated and publicly notified by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Check with the prefecture before planning a trolling trip.

Different limits apply in the Exclusive Economic Zone under the Act on the Exercise of Sovereign Rights (Act No. 76 of 1996). Chumming from a vessel under 3 GT is guide-only there.

The Fisheries Agency publishes an English flyer, 'Rules for Recreational Fishing', along with Russian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, Vietnamese and Indonesian editions.

Under the Fisheries Act as revised in 2020, abalone (awabi), sea cucumber (namako) and glass eel (shirasu-unagi, juvenile eel under 13 cm) are designated 'specified aquatic animals and plants'. Taking them is prohibited outright.

Up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥30,000,000.

Everyone — commercial fishers and members of the public alike. Taking them for leisure or for your own dinner is still an offence. Knowingly transporting, storing, acquiring or brokering poached catch is also prohibited.

Visitors snorkelling or rock-pooling sometimes pick these up without realising. The penalty is the same either way.

Abalone and sea cucumber from 1 December 2020; glass eel from 1 December 2023.

A Common Fishery Right is held over almost the entire coastline of Japan. Shellfish, seaweed and other creatures covered by that right belong to the cooperative holding it. Taking them without permission is an infringement of the fishery right.

A fine of up to ¥1,000,000 (Fisheries Act art. 195).

Kumamoto publishes a concrete list of what its Class 1 Common Fishery Right covers: octopus, spiny lobster, mantis shrimp, sea urchin and sea cucumber; abalone, horned turban, manila clam, hard clam and oyster; and the seaweeds aosa, aonori, wakame, hijiki and tosakanori. The exact list differs with each fishery right.

This is the rule visitors break most easily and least knowingly. Collecting shells, picking seaweed off rocks or gathering clams on a beach all look harmless and are all capable of being an offence. The right is invisible — there is no fence and often no sign in English.

Fishing with a rod for fin fish is generally fine. Gathering anything attached to the bottom — shellfish, seaweed, sea cucumber — is where the trouble starts. If you want to gather, ask the local cooperative, or go to an organised clam-digging beach where a fee is charged.

Pacific bluefin taken recreationally is managed nationally under a Wide-Area Fisheries Adjustment Commission instruction, separately from every other species. The rules apply to everyone fishing for bluefin — charter boat, private boat or from the shore alike.

Violating the follow-up order issued by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries carries up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥500,000 (Fisheries Act art. 191).

Small fish (under 30 kg) may not be taken at all, at any time of year. This holds even if you intend to release: targeting them is prohibited outright.

Large fish (30 kg and over) are capped at one fish per person per period, where the periods are Apr–May, Jun–Jul, Aug–Sep, Oct–Nov, Dec–Jan and Feb–Mar. Catch is also capped nationally at 4.2 t per month and 51.4 t for FY2026; once a cap is close, the season is closed by public notice, sometimes mid-month.

From April 2026 a notification system applies: anyone taking bluefin recreationally must file a notification with the Fisheries Agency. Registration is open now.

The number and weight of large fish taken must be reported. Releases carry no reporting duty, but reporting them is requested.

Length is not the test — weight is. A fish over 100 cm can still be under 30 kg. If you have no scale and the fish might be under 30 kg, release it. Landing an under-30 kg fish because you could not weigh it is still a violation.

If you are fishing for something else and hook a bluefin, release it immediately and you are in the clear.

Oma, Hachijo-jima and Hagi are on this index because they are bluefin grounds. Plan a trip around bluefin without checking the current closure status and you may arrive to find the season shut.

No licence or permit is required for recreational sea fishing in Japan. Gear, methods, closed seasons, closed areas and minimum sizes are still regulated by each prefecture's Fisheries Adjustment Regulations, and they differ from prefecture to prefecture.

Most rivers and lakes are held under a Type 5 Common Fishery Right by a local fishery cooperative (gyokyo). The cooperative sets Recreational Fishing Rules, approved by the prefectural governor, covering the fee, the permit (yugyo-shoninsho), and the open season. If you fish there you need to buy the permit.

A day permit is typically ¥1,000–2,000, more for ayu. Buy from the cooperative office, riverside tackle shops, nearby convenience stores, or online through services such as Tsurichike.

Outside the national controls above, minimum landing sizes, closed seasons and closed areas are set by each prefecture's Fisheries Adjustment Regulations and by Sea-area Fisheries Adjustment Commission directives. They differ across prefectures for the same species.

There is no single national table of these limits — they live in 47 separate prefectural regulations, most of them published only in Japanese. We do not reproduce them here rather than risk telling you a wrong number.

Ask your charter operator, or the prefecture's fisheries division, before you keep anything. Guides know their own prefecture's limits and this is a normal question to ask.

On rivers and lakes the cooperative's own Recreational Fishing Rules add further minimum sizes and closed seasons on top of the prefectural regulations.

Each prefecture's Fisheries Adjustment Regulations list the gear and methods recreational anglers may use at sea. Anything not on the list is prohibited.

Diving apparatus (including simple/hookah rigs) and speargun are not on the list anywhere, so they cannot be used — and you cannot use a hand spear or hand-gathering while using diving apparatus either.

Even listed gear can be limited by area, size and quantity. Chumming and the use of lights attract particular restrictions.

Largemouth bass and bluegill are designated Invasive Alien Species. Keeping, cultivating, storing or transporting them alive is prohibited without ministerial permission.

Catch and release on the spot is how bass is fished in Japan. Do not put a live bass in a bucket and drive off with it, and do not move fish between waters.

These lakes are treated as sea areas under the Fisheries Act because of how they are fished. Inland-water rules — including the cooperative permit system — do not apply to them.

This is why Lake Biwa — Japan's most famous bass water — needs no fishing permit, while Lake Kawaguchi two hours away does.

• Lake Saroma
• Lake Notoro
• Lake Furen
• Onneto
• Lake Akkeshi
• Lake Kasumigaura
• Kitaura
• Sotonasakaura
• Lake Kamo
• Lake Hamana
• Lake Biwa
• Lake Nakaumi

Under the Fisheries Resource Protection Act, taking salmon in inland waters is prohibited except in specifically authorised cases. Explosives and toxic substances are prohibited everywhere.

Japanese ports and shorelines carry warning signs, almost always in Japanese only. Not being able to read them is not a defence, and these two are the ones that matter.

立入禁止 — KEEP OUT. The area is legally off limits, whether for dangerous water, failing infrastructure, or port security rules. Do not climb the fence; that is trespass.

釣り禁止 — NO FISHING. You may stand here, but you may not fish. Usually because casting interferes with working boats or harbour staff. Pack up and move on.

If a sign is unclear, photograph it and run it through a translation app before you decide. Fishing ports are workplaces first and recreation grounds second — the people around you are usually working.

• Keep away from set nets, gear and other fishing installations.
• Do not enter restricted areas inside fishing ports — signage is often Japanese only.
• Take your rubbish home.
• Ask the prefecture or your charter operator before you fish if anything is unclear.