If your tracking page has shown no new updates for a while, this is usually not a sign of a problem. International parcels, and postal (EMS) shipments in particular, often travel for weeks without a new tracking scan while they are handled between customs and postal services.
🚚 Why tracking stops updating
- Customs clearance: a parcel can wait in export or import customs for some time, and no scan is recorded while it waits.
- Handover between postal services: once your parcel leaves Japan, it is handled by the postal service of your country. Their scans may not appear until the parcel reaches a local facility.
- For postal (EMS) shipments, gaps of several weeks, and sometimes more than a month, do occur. During this time the parcel is still moving, even though the tracking page does not change.
📦 What you can do while you wait
- Check the tracking page of your country's postal service with the same tracking number. It often shows more detail than the Japan Post page.
- Check for any notice from customs or the carrier. If your order was shipped as DDU ("Customs duties and taxes may be charged separately upon delivery"), the parcel may be waiting for a duty payment or an ID number. See My package seems to be held at customs. What should I do? and What if I am asked for a tax ID or personal ID number for customs?
📩 When to contact us
- Postal (EMS) shipments: if there has been no tracking update for about one month since the last update, please contact us with your order number and tracking number. We will open an investigation with the postal service.
- FedEx / ECMS shipments: tracking normally updates more often. If there has been no update for about two weeks, please contact us.
⚠️ Please note
Investigations with postal services can take one to two months to return a result. We are unable to guarantee a delivery date for international shipping. If the carrier confirms that the parcel was lost, we will refund your order in accordance with our Returns & Refunds Policy.