Antidepressants in Japan: What's Available, What's Not, and How to Switch
Most of the antidepressants prescribed in Western countries are available in Japan under the same generic names, including sertraline, escitalopram, duloxetine, mirtazapine, and others used for depression and anxiety. The two main exceptions are fluoxetine (Prozac) and bupropion (Wellbutrin), which are not approved in Japan. If you take one of those, you will switch to another medicine after you arrive, and that is a routine process.
Which antidepressants are available in Japan?
The SSRIs, the SNRIs, and most of the other classes used elsewhere, with a few gaps.
- SSRIs: sertraline, escitalopram, paroxetine, and fluvoxamine. Fluoxetine and citalopram are not available.
- SNRIs: duloxetine, venlafaxine, and milnacipran (approved for depression in Japan; in the US it is sold only for fibromyalgia, as Savella).
- Others: mirtazapine, vortioxetine, trazodone, and older tricyclics such as amitriptyline. The newest is zuranolone, approved for depression and taken as a 14-day course, which went on sale in Japan in 2026.
What are the Japanese brand names?
Most are sold under the same brand name or a close variant.
| You know it as | Generic name | In Japan? | Japanese brand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoloft | sertraline | Yes | J Zoloft |
| Lexapro / Cipralex | escitalopram | Yes | Lexapro |
| Paxil / Seroxat | paroxetine | Yes | Paxil CR (approved for depression only) or generic paroxetine tablets; the original Paxil tablet has been discontinued here |
| Luvox / Faverin | fluvoxamine | Yes | Luvox / Depromel |
| Cymbalta | duloxetine | Yes | Cymbalta |
| Effexor | venlafaxine | Yes | Effexor SR |
| Remeron | mirtazapine | Yes | Reflex / Remeron |
| Trintellix | vortioxetine | Yes | Trintellix |
| Desyrel | trazodone | Yes | Reslin or generic trazodone |
| Prozac | fluoxetine | No | switch to another SSRI |
| Wellbutrin | bupropion | No | no direct equivalent; individual plan |
| Celexa | citalopram | No | escitalopram is the closest relative |
| Pristiq | desvenlafaxine | No | venlafaxine is the closest relative |
| MAOIs (Nardil, Parnate) | phenelzine etc. | No | no antidepressant MAOIs in Japan |
What if your medication isn't available?
You switch to the closest available relative, with your records in hand.
- Citalopram users move to escitalopram, which is one of the two mirror-image forms that make up citalopram.
- Desvenlafaxine users move to venlafaxine, the medicine it is derived from.
- Fluoxetine users switch to another SSRI. Fluoxetine leaves the body slowly, which shapes how the switch is timed (how the switch works).
- Bupropion has no close relative in Japan, so the replacement depends on what it was treating (what replaces it).
Whatever you take, bring documentation: a letter or printout listing your diagnosis, the medications you have tried, doses, and response. If you are still abroad, do not stop your medication before the move; arrange the switch with a doctor.
Do Japanese doctors prescribe differently?
The medicines are the same, but some approved maximum doses are lower than in the US. Sertraline, for example, is approved up to 100 mg a day in Japan (package insert, in Japanese) against 200 mg in the US. If you arrive on a dose above the Japanese maximum, the part above the maximum is not covered by health insurance, and your doctor will discuss the options with you: reducing to the maximum, changing to a medicine whose maximum matches your dose, or adding a second medicine. Bring your history to the first visit.
Can you bring your antidepressants into Japan?
Yes, up to one month's supply for personal use with no paperwork, because antidepressants are ordinary prescription medicines under Japan's import rules. For more than a month you apply before travel for an import certificate (輸入確認証, yunyu kakunin-sho, long known as the yakkan shoumei); the health ministry publishes the rules in English. Book a psychiatrist for your first weeks so that the Japanese prescription starts before your supply runs out.
Frequently asked questions
This article is general information, not medical advice for your individual situation. Decisions about medication belong in a consultation with a doctor who knows your history.
Medically reviewed by our psychiatrist (M.D.). Updated October 16, 2026.