Japan has implemented several national animal welfare laws since 1973, but its protections for animals are considered weak by international standards.^[1] Animal activism and protection laws in Japan are mainly focused on the welfare of domesticated animals and farm animals.^[2]

Buddhism was first introduced to Japan in the 6th century CE. A central teaching of Buddhism is ahimsa, or nonviolence towards all living things. Buddhist proscriptions against killing animals and encouragement of vegetarianism were highly influential throughout several periods of Japanese history.

In 675, Emperor Tenmu banned the consumption of meat with exceptions for fish and wild animals due to his devout Buddhism,^[3] though the ban seems to not have been well-observed.^[4]

Meat was reintroduced when Christian missionaries from Portugal and the Netherlands arrived in Japan beginning in the 16th century,^[5] bringing with them their omnivorous diets.

The ban on eating meat was reinstated in 1687 under the Buddhist Tokugawa shogunate. Killing animals was made illegal as well, leading to a rise in a black market for meat obtained through hunting.

Emperor Meiji repealed the ban on meat and began eating meat publicly at dinners with Westerners in 1872.^[3][4] The removal of the ban encountered resistance and in one notable reaction, ten monks attempted to break into the Imperial Palace. The monks asserted that due to foreign influence, large numbers of Japanese had begun eating meat and that this was "destroying the soul of the Japanese people." Several of the monks were killed during the break-in attempt, and the remainder were arrested.^[4][6]

The consumption of animal products has since become the norm in Japan, and has increased dramatically since the introduction of intensive animal farming in the 1950s.^[7]

Japan's main animal welfare law is the 1973 Act on Welfare and Management of Animals. The law makes it a crime to kill, injure, or inflict cruelty on animals without due cause. The welfare law also defines a duty of care in owners and keepers of animals to maintain the health and safety of the animals and to raise them accordingly with the individual's species and behavior. The law lists cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, domestic rabbits, chickens, domestic pigeons, domestic ducks, and any other animals which have an owner as protected. Any mammals, birds or reptiles with an owner are protected, with the notable exception of fish. The penalty for killing or injuring an animal in the protected category is a fine or imprisonment up to one year; abandonment and cruelty by neglect are punishable with fines.^[1]

With the exception of fish, all farm animals are protected by the anti-cruelty and duty of care provisions. Slaughters are required to minimize pain and distress, although appropriate methods are not specified and stunning is not required. The law's regulations on animal-handling businesses exclude livestock and do not contain legislation specifically addressing farm animals.^[1]

The anti-cruelty and duty of care provisions also apply to animals in research. The law also stipulates that alternative methods must be considered as well as all possible reductions of the number of animals used. Methods of experimentation and sacrifice that minimize pain and distress are required to be used as much as possible. The law was amended in 2005 to create new basic guidelines for experimentation based on the Three Rs (refine, replace, reduce) for animal testing, although enforcement of the law still relies heavily on self-regulation.^[8][9]

In 2012, the law was amended to impose stricter regulations on sellers of dogs and cats, create measures for animal welfare during disasters, create clearer definitions of animal abuse, and expand duty of care beyond individual owners. The amendment stipulates that, "… every person shall maintain the environment and health of animals, shall feed and water animals properly by taking into account their natural habits and giving consideration to the symbiosis between humans and animals."^[10]

In 2020, Japan received a E out of possible grades A, B, C, D, E, F, G with A being the best possible score on World Animal Protection's (formerly World Society for the Protection of Animals) Animal Protection Index.^[11]

The Animal Rights Center works on issues involving the welfare of stray animals and opposes animal testing, fur farming, and meat-eating through demonstrations, lectures, and the distribution of educational material.^[29]

VegeProject Japan also focuses on farmed animal issues, but through encouraging companies and institutions to incorporate plant-based options. VegeProject began as a college project to start vegan options at Kyoto University and has since had similar success in Tokyo University, Hitotsubashi University, Nagoya University, and Kobe University, among others. The organization has since branched out to collaborate with companies through their vegan certification program, including with household names such as Kikkoman, Kagome, Nippn, Marukome, and Marusanai. According to their website, VegeProject's goal is to create a society where vegan options can be accessed anywhere.^[30]

The Japanese Animal Welfare Society (JAWS) UK can be traced to an organization founded in Tokyo in 1945 by British expatriates. Its original aim was to improve the welfare of dogs used for experiments. At the time, dogs were kept in poor conditions and used in unregulated in vivo tests. Officially founded in the United Kingdom, JAWS UK continued to assist efforts to help these dogs and other animals, eventually founding a JAWS based in Japan. Its current activities include funding vital animal welfare equipment such as veterinary drugs and humane cat traps, providing general funds for local animal welfare groups, and promoting the Five Freedoms for Japanese animals.^[31]

According to Honjo (2014), Japanese animal welfare organizations focus on companion animals, paying little attention to farmed animals.^[2]

• Whaling in Japan
• Timeline of animal welfare and rights
• History of vegetarianism
• Animal rights movement
• Animal protectionism
• 2002 Japan animal cruelty case