Yes. A visitor can bring and use a personal phone, laptop, or Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled demo device in Japan without the Technical Regulations Conformity Certification mark (技適マーク), for up to 90 days from the date of entry, provided the device meets technical standards equivalent to Japan's own. The exemption does not cover Wi-Fi routers, which must carry the mark regardless of how briefly they are used.
What Is the 90-Day Giteki Exemption for Visitors?#
The exemption is a framework under the Radio Act (電波法) that lets a visitor use an uncertified wireless device in Japan for up to 90 days counted from the date of entry, without going through Japan's own type certification process. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省, MIC) administers the scheme, which has been in effect since 2016. It exists because the normal rule under the Radio Act is strict: any device that transmits radio waves, a phone, a laptop with Wi-Fi, a Bluetooth headset, a piece of demo hardware, needs the conformity mark before it can be used in Japan at all, and a short business trip was never a realistic occasion to run a device through full certification.
The condition that makes the exemption work is technical equivalence. The device has to meet technical standards that MIC treats as equivalent to the standards a certified device would meet under the Radio Act. For a company bringing in demo hardware built to a recognized home-market standard, this is usually a non-issue. For hardware built to a standard with no accepted equivalence pathway, or for a device modified from its certified configuration, it is a real question, and one covered in more depth in our overview of Radio Act certification and import compliance for wireless devices.
Does the 90-Day Exemption Cover Wi-Fi Routers?#
No. MIC's own guidance is explicit that the visitor exemption does not extend to Wi-Fi routers: an uncertified router is outside the scope of the 90-day allowance and needs the conformity mark to be used in Japan, full stop. This is the single most common point of confusion for traveling teams, because a laptop, a phone, and a portable router often ship in the same bag and get treated as one category by the person packing it.
The practical split is straightforward. A founder's or employee's own laptop, phone, tablet, or similar personal-use device: covered, for 90 days, if it meets the equivalence standard. A pocket Wi-Fi unit or travel router brought along to create a local network for a demo booth: not covered, and needs to either carry the mark already or be swapped for a Japan-market rental unit. Teams setting up a trade show booth or demo environment should treat routers as a separate line item from everything else in the kit.
What Counts as a Visitor for the 90-Day Rule?#
The exemption is built around a visitor entering Japan and using their own device during that stay, not around a device being sold, distributed, or operated as part of ongoing commercial activity inside Japan. A founder flying in for a trade show, a site visit, or early due diligence, carrying their own laptop and phone, sits squarely inside the exemption. The same device, left behind and handed to a locally hired employee for continued day-to-day use well past the 90-day window, no longer sits inside a visitor's own temporary use.
This is also the line between this post and the commercial import question. Bringing your own phone to a demo is a personal-use question under the visitor exemption. Importing units to sell, lease, or permanently deploy to a Japan-based team is a different question entirely, governed by the standard Radio Act certification pathway rather than the 90-day allowance, and it is the subject of our Radio Act certification overview and our comparison of experimental station licensing versus type certification for IoT devices.
Does a Device Need Both Giteki and PSE to Travel With a Visitor?#
The 90-day exemption under the Radio Act only addresses radio transmission compliance; it does not touch Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (電気用品安全法) requirements that apply separately to powered electrical products. For a personal laptop or phone carried in and out of Japan by its owner, this distinction rarely surfaces as a practical problem. It becomes relevant the moment a company plans to leave demo units behind, hand them to local staff, or otherwise move past temporary personal use, at which point both regimes need to be checked independently rather than assumed to track each other. Our piece on when wireless devices need both PSE and Giteki lays out how the two regimes interact and where they diverge.
A related trap is hardware that gets modified after it arrives, a firmware update, an antenna swap, a different enclosure for the Japan trip. Once a device changes meaningfully from the configuration it was certified or equivalence-assessed against, the question of whether it still qualifies resets. Our guide to hardware changes after Giteki certification covers how much change triggers a fresh look.
For a market-entry visit that combines a product demo with early-stage structuring work, such as scoping incorporation or a first hire, the radio compliance question is one piece of a broader entry checklist. Our market entry services page covers the fuller picture of what a founder's or team's first Japan trip actually needs to clear.
Three points worth keeping straight before a trip:
(a) The 90-day clock runs from the date of entry into Japan, not from the date the device is first switched on, so a traveler re-entering partway through an extended project should track the original entry date, not a later one. (b) The exemption is conditioned on technical equivalence to Japan's own standards, not on any single foreign certification mark automatically qualifying a device; where the device's home-market standard is unusual, confirm equivalence before travel rather than at the airport. (c) Routers are excluded outright, so a demo kit that includes a travel router needs that router handled as a separate compliance item, typically by using a certified Japan-market rental unit instead of carrying one in.
Frequently Asked Questions#
Can I use my work laptop's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Japan without Giteki certification?
Yes, under the 90-day visitor exemption, as long as the laptop meets technical standards MIC treats as equivalent to Japan's own and you are within 90 days of your date of entry. If the laptop stays in Japan beyond 90 days or moves from your personal use to ongoing operational use by a locally based employee, it falls outside the exemption and needs its own compliance review.
Is a portable Wi-Fi router or mobile hotspot covered by the 90-day exemption?
No. MIC's guidance specifically excludes Wi-Fi routers from the visitor exemption, so an uncertified router needs the conformity mark to be used in Japan regardless of trip length. The common workaround for a short visit is renting a certified pocket Wi-Fi unit locally rather than carrying one in.
What is the difference between the 90-day visitor exemption and the longer experimental station regime?
They are separate systems under the same part of the Radio Act. The 90-day visitor exemption is self-executing, no filing required, and built for a traveler using their own device temporarily. A separate notification-based regime allows uncertified equipment to be used for up to 180 days for trial or R&D purposes, but it requires a notification to the Minister before use and is intended for testing and development work, not for a business traveler's personal devices. Mixing the two up is a common source of confusion online, and the right one depends on whether the use is personal travel or a formal technical trial.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a qualified advisor before acting on the content. Last updated: October 2026.