I’ve heard that antibiotics are used with meat and fish; is this safe?

The pharmaceuticals used with farmed seafood and livestock such as cows, pigs, and chickens is limited to those which have been approved per the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and the animals they may be used with, how they be used, and the periods during which their use is prohibited is similarly prescribed. If used according to these limits, no pharmaceuticals will remain in the animals in excess of the limits established in the Food Sanitation Act. The national and local governments conduct testing for residual pharmaceuticals in farmed animals and processed foods in order to monitor for violations of these laws.

In addition, livestock and seafood imported into Japan from other countries such as chicken and farmed eels are tested at the quarantine stations located throughout the country. When a violation is detected, the sale of the offending product is prohibited and it is removed from the market. In addition, if violations occur repeatedly with the same foods from a given country, a testing order is issued. Foods subject to the testing order must be tested by the importer when they are imported and those which do not pass may not be imported.

In 2015, 12,045 monitoring tests for antibiotics and other substances were conducted on animal, seafood, and processed food products at national quarantine stations, out of which 8 violations were found. In combination with violations discovered per issued testing orders, a total of 52 violations related to residual pharmaceuticals for animals were detected in 2015.