Can you take chargers on a plane?
Chargers can go in both carry-on and checked bags in Japan. Carry-on: Yes. A charger or AC adapter with no battery inside is an ordinary electrical item. Checked baggage: Yes.
Carry-on: yesChecked bag: yes
Chargers on flights in and from Japan
The Civil Aviation Bureau's list of restricted items has no entry for chargers.
| Where | Allowed? | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| In the cabin | Yes | Yes. A charger or AC adapter with no battery inside is an ordinary electrical item. |
| In checked baggage | Yes | Yes. |
A charger with a battery built in is a power bank and follows the power bank rule: cabin only.
Plug-in chargers, battery chargers and what each list means
The word charger covers plug-in adapters and battery packs, and the official lists treat them in opposite ways.
- Why Japan's list has no charger row
- Japan's list has a full section on batteries for portable electronics, and a plug-in charger or AC adapter appears nowhere in it. What the section does define is the power bank: something meant to supply power to other electronic devices, with a lithium-ion or lithium metal battery built in. A charger with no cells inside falls outside that wording.
- The TSA's Phone Chargers entry is about battery packs
- The TSA has entries named Phone Chargers and Power Charger, both marked yes for carry-on and no for checked bags. The text under them concerns portable chargers containing a lithium ion battery. Mains gear has entries of its own: Extension Cord, Surge Protector and Power Inverters are each marked yes for both kinds of bag.
- CASA sorts by where the power comes from
- Australia's CASA keeps phone chargers, laptop chargers and wall chargers in its category for mains-powered electrical appliances. Portable chargers and power packs for recharging electronic devices sit in the spare lithium-ion battery category instead, flagged as not to be checked in. The split follows the battery, not the name on the box.
- Cords draw no comment in Narita's FAQ
- Narita Airport's FAQ takes a question about packing electrical cords and dry batteries in a suitcase. The answer deals only with the batteries: built-in lithium-ion batteries are unrestricted, backup lithium-ion batteries belong in carry-on baggage, and alkaline batteries can go in either bag. Nothing in the answer restricts the cords.
Chargers: the rule country by country
The carry-on answer for chargers is the same in the other place we checked.
| Flying from | Carry-on | Checked bag | What the authority says |
|---|---|---|---|
| JapanCivil Aviation Bureau | Yes | Yes | A charger or AC adapter with no battery inside is an ordinary electrical item. Source |
| AustraliaHome Affairs, CASA | Yes | Yes | Phone and laptop chargers are mains-powered electrical appliances: not considered dangerous goods and allowed in carry-on and checked baggage. Depending on the device, security or carry-on baggage restrictions may apply.CASA Pack Right entry: Phone charger, laptop charger etc Source |
Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.
Buying chargers in Japan
- Where to buy
- Electronics shops, convenience stores, hundred-yen shops.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take chargers on a plane?
On flights in and from Japan: Yes. A charger or AC adapter with no battery inside is an ordinary electrical item. In checked baggage: Yes.
Does a charger with a built-in battery count as a power bank?
Yes. Japan's leaflet defines a power bank as an item with a lithium-ion battery built in whose purpose is charging other electronic devices, so a wall charger that also stores power is one and may not go in checked baggage. The TSA puts it in similar words: spare lithium batteries, which include both power banks and phone chargers, are prohibited in checked luggage.
Can you take a voltage transformer or power inverter on a plane?
Yes. Narita Airport's FAQ answers a question about an inverter, a transformer used in a car to convert direct current from the battery to 100V AC, by saying a transformer may be brought into the cabin. The TSA marks Power Inverters yes for carry-on and yes for checked bags, with no conditions written under the entry.
What is the rule for chargers on flights from Australia?
Australia: Phone and laptop chargers are mains-powered electrical appliances: not considered dangerous goods and allowed in carry-on and checked baggage. Depending on the device, security or carry-on baggage restrictions may apply.
Related items
Sources for this page
- Japan Civil Aviation Bureau — items that can and cannot be carried by airchecked October 2, 2026
- Japan Civil Aviation Bureau — Items restricted in carry-on and checked baggage (updated 24 April 2026)checked October 2, 2026
- Japan Civil Aviation Bureau — To all passengers: bringing power banks on board (rules from 24 April 2026)checked October 2, 2026
- Narita International Airport — FAQ: prohibited itemschecked October 2, 2026
- CASA — Pack Right: Phone charger, laptop charger etcchecked October 1, 2026
- TSA — What Can I Bring? (complete list)checked October 1, 2026
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Compiled by Japan Japan !! · Updated October 2, 2026