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How to become a Customs Officer

Reviews declarations and inspects cargo at airports and seaports, stops smuggling of dangerous goods (such as drugs and firearms) at the border, and collects customs duties and other taxes on imports.

How to become one

You must pass the National Personnel Authority's general national public service exam (university graduate level) or the same exam (high school graduate level), then be hired by a customs office (there are 9 around the country) after its job interview. No qualifications are needed when hired. You learn the knowledge needed for the work in training after hiring, and through practical training linked to your work after placement. After hiring and before starting real work, you take the new staff course at the Customs Training Institute, to learn the basic knowledge and skills needed to work in customs and to develop awareness of your role as a national public servant and customs officer. It lasts two and a half months for general staff (university graduates) and 6 months for general staff (high school graduates). There is also training for each level of post, specialist training to develop staff with advanced knowledge and skills, and language training in English, Chinese, Korean and others. After training, at the customs office that hired you, you build a career mainly in front-line work at the border, at airports and seaports, such as baggage inspection at airports, seaport enforcement, reviewing and inspecting import and export cargo, and investigating offences such as drug smuggling. If you pass the national public service comprehensive (career-track) exam and are hired on the career track, you mainly play a central role at the Customs and Tariff Bureau in planning tariff and customs policy and in international negotiations, and also take senior roles at customs offices around the country. The qualities needed include a sense of responsibility and justice for duties such as detecting illegal drugs and collecting the right duties, communication skills for face-to-face work such as baggage inspection, and the ability to handle irregular hours, including night duty and weekend work. The job also suits people with the flexibility and initiative to respond to changes in the situation in Japan and abroad, and a willingness to learn new things.

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Customs Officer?

You must pass the National Personnel Authority's general national public service exam (university graduate level) or the same exam (high school graduate level), then be hired by a customs office (there are 9 around the country) after its job interview. No qualifications are needed when hired. You learn the knowledge needed for the work in training after hiring, and through practical training linked to your work after placement. After hiring and before starting real work, you take the new staff course at the Customs Training Institute, to learn the basic knowledge and skills needed to work in customs and to develop awareness of your role as a national public servant and customs officer. It lasts two and a half months for general staff (university graduates) and 6 months for general staff (high school graduates). There is also training for each level of post, specialist training to develop staff with advanced knowledge and skills, and language training in English, Chinese, Korean and others. After training, at the customs office that hired you, you build a career mainly in front-line work at the border, at airports and seaports, such as baggage inspection at airports, seaport enforcement, reviewing and inspecting import and export cargo, and investigating offences such as drug smuggling. If you pass the national public service comprehensive (career-track) exam and are hired on the career track, you mainly play a central role at the Customs and Tariff Bureau in planning tariff and customs policy and in international negotiations, and also take senior roles at customs offices around the country. The qualities needed include a sense of responsibility and justice for duties such as detecting illegal drugs and collecting the right duties, communication skills for face-to-face work such as baggage inspection, and the ability to handle irregular hours, including night duty and weekend work. The job also suits people with the flexibility and initiative to respond to changes in the situation in Japan and abroad, and a willingness to learn new things.

Do you need a degree to become a Customs Officer?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 23% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Customs Officer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026