Baggage rules for every airline flying to Japan

All 17 side by side

Carry-on limits are close to identical across Japanese carriers — 115cm and 10kg. Where airlines really differ is the checked allowance, and whether you get one at all.

Weight is what gets people at the gate, not size. A cabin bag that fits the sizer can still be refused if it is over the limit, and low-cost carriers weigh bags at boarding.

How to read a baggage allowance

Four numbers decide whether your bag flies with you.

Three sides

Length plus width plus depth, added together. 115cm is the Japanese standard for a cabin bag, and handles and wheels count.

Weight

Usually the total of both pieces, not each. Japanese full-service carriers allow 10kg; low-cost carriers allow 7kg.

Pieces

Almost always one bag plus one personal item. The personal item has to fit under the seat in front of you.

Checked allowance

Full-service fares include it. Low-cost fares do not — you buy it with the ticket, and it costs more at the airport.

From 1 July 2026, ANA and Solaseed cap the personal item at 40 × 30 × 20cm.That is smaller than many day bags and laptop bags. If you fly ANA after that date, measure the bag you plan to put under the seat.

What changes on a low-cost carrier

3 of the 17 airlines here sell the fare and the baggage separately. The fare looks cheaper until you add a bag.

• The carry-on limit drops to 7kg across both pieces, and it is weighed at the gate rather than at check-in.
• Checked baggage is bought with the ticket. Adding it at the airport typically costs two to three times the online price.
• Peach, Jetstar Japan and ZIPAIR all fly from Narita or Kansai rather than Haneda or Itami, so factor in the extra time and fare into the city.
• If you are connecting onto a domestic flight, the low-cost carrier will not transfer your bag — you collect it and check in again.

For a short trip with hand luggage only, a low-cost fare is genuinely cheaper. For two weeks with a large case, add the baggage fee before you compare.

The rule every airline applies the same way

Lithium batteries are the one area where no airline is more lenient than any other.

• Power banks and spare lithium batteries go in the cabin. They are refused in checked baggage by every airline listed here.
• Up to 100Wh needs no approval. From 100Wh to 160Wh you need the airline's agreement and may carry two. Over 160Wh is refused.
• From 2026 Japanese carriers ask you to keep power banks in view rather than in the overhead locker, and not to charge from them in flight.
• E-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices also travel in the cabin only, and cannot be used or charged on board.

If you are checking a bag with a device in it — a laptop, a camera, a smart suitcase — the device must be switched fully off, and any removable battery comes out and travels with you.