The ‘Flexible Declaration Scheme’ of Japan Customs:Prevalence, Determinants, and Consequences

Shintaro Negishi, Akira Sasahara, Takanori Otsuka and Fumiharu Ito
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Shintaro Negishi: Visiting Scholar, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance
Akira Sasahara: Research Fellow, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance / Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Keio University
Takanori Otsuka: Visiting Scholar, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance
Fumiharu Ito: Visiting Scholar, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance

Public Policy Review, 2026, vol. 22, issue 1, 1-34

Abstract: This article examines the prevalence, determinants, and consequences of the Flexible Declaration Scheme in Japan, introduced in October 2017, which allows exporters and importers to declare transactions at a customs office where their shipments are not stored. Regarding the prevalence, our results show that the utilization rate of the Flexible Declaration Scheme increased by 27 percentage points for exports and 18 percentage points for imports over around four years after its introduction. We also show that the utilization rate varies significantly across sectors, regions, and years. Regarding the determinants, we find that customs brokers play the most significant role in explaining variations in the utilization rate relative to other factors such as partner countries and products. Regarding the consequences, we find that exporters and importers using this Flexible Declaration Scheme reduced the number of customs offices used for declarations and storage by more than 50%, suggesting that this customs procedure resulted in a consolidation of customs clearance operations.

Keywords: export and import declaration data; international trade; customs procedures; trade facilitation; AEO (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 F23 F6 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mof:journl:ppr22_01_01

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