What you cannot ship out of Japan with a proxy service
Proxy services will let you buy almost anything on Yahoo! Auctions or Mercari. Shipping it out is a different question, and you usually find out only after the parcel reaches their warehouse — when the money is already spent. This table is taken from each company's own prohibited-items page, checked on 2026-08-09.
| Category | What it covers | What each service says |
|---|---|---|
| Flammable liquid | Model paint, lacquer thinner, nail polish, perfume, alcohol-based liquids | FROM JAPAN: No · Buyee: No · ZenMarket: No · Neokyo: No |
| Aerosol / pressurised can | Spray paint, matte topcoat, air duster, spray deodorant | FROM JAPAN: No · Buyee: No · ZenMarket: No · Neokyo: No |
| Contains a lithium battery | LED or sound figures, handheld consoles, electronics, power banks | FROM JAPAN: Not stated · Buyee: Not stated · ZenMarket: With conditions · Neokyo: With conditions |
| Airsoft / model gun | Anything shaped like a real firearm, including toys | FROM JAPAN: Not stated · Buyee: No · ZenMarket: With conditions · Neokyo: No |
| Lighter | Zippo and other lighters, refill gas, matches | FROM JAPAN: No · Buyee: No · ZenMarket: No · Neokyo: No |
| Food or drink | Character snacks, prize sweets, instant food, tea | FROM JAPAN: Not stated · Buyee: Not stated · ZenMarket: Not stated · Neokyo: Yes |
| Adult (R18) material | Doujinshi, games and goods with adult content | FROM JAPAN: No · Buyee: With conditions · ZenMarket: With conditions · Neokyo: Yes |
| Blade / replica sword | Katana replicas, knives, sharp props | FROM JAPAN: Not stated · Buyee: No · ZenMarket: Not stated · Neokyo: No |
“Not stated” is not the same as allowed
Where a company publishes no rule for a category we mark it Not stated rather than assuming it is fine. It means the decision is made at the warehouse, after you have paid. Japan Post rules still apply on top of whatever the proxy says, and those depend on the destination — lithium batteries, for instance, cannot be posted to Germany or the United Kingdom at all.
Two separate rules have to pass, not one
Whether a parcel can leave Japan is decided twice. The proxy applies its own policy, which differs between companies and is a commercial decision — one of the four publishes a handling procedure for model guns where the others simply refuse them. Then Japan Post applies the rules for the country you are sending to, and those apply to everyone equally. A company being willing to take your money does not mean the post office will take the box.
This is why the pages here check both, and why the answer for the same item can differ by destination. Changing proxy gets you past a company policy; nothing gets you past a postal restriction except a private courier, which is a different price list altogether.
It is not the item that is restricted — it is a property of it
The categories above are written as attributes rather than product types on purpose. A scale figure is ordinarily unrestricted, but the same figure with an illuminated base contains a lithium battery and is judged on that. A plastic model kit ships freely; the same kit bundled with a pot of paint is a flammable liquid. Buying “a figure” tells you nothing — what is in the box does.
If you are unsure, assume the stricter reading. The cost of being wrong is not a delay: it is the item, the domestic postage and the service fee, none of which is refunded.