A trip to Japan while pregnant raises one question more than any other: what about the sushi? We are not the right people to answer whether you should eat raw fish — that is for your doctor. What we can do, as a group involved in running restaurants in Tokyo, is set out what Japan’s own food‑safety guidance says, and how to ask a sushi or kaiseki restaurant for a meal that fits.
What does Japan’s guidance say about fish during pregnancy?
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes a notice on fish and mercury for pregnant women. It begins with the benefits: fish provides good‑quality protein and fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, and is essential to a balanced diet. It then says that some fish, through the food chain, carry more mercury than others, and sets guideline amounts for pregnant women.
The ministry is explicit that this is not a request to stop eating these fish — it asks pregnant women to avoid eating large amounts of them in a lopsided way. The advice applies to pregnancy; the ministry states that children and the general public need not change what they normally eat. Your companions can order as usual.
The guideline amounts, as the ministry sets them out:
| Guideline (one serving about 80 g) | Fish and seafood |
|---|---|
| Up to once every two months (about 10 g a week) | Bottlenose dolphin |
| Up to once every two weeks (about 40 g a week) | Short‑finned pilot whale |
| Up to once a week (about 80 g a week) | Golden‑eye snapper (kinmedai), swordfish (mekajiki), bluefin tuna (kuromaguro), bigeye tuna (mebachi), a whelk (etchūbai‑gai), Baird’s beaked whale, sperm whale |
| Up to twice a week (about 160 g a week) | Yellowback seabream (kidai), striped marlin (makajiki), blackbelly rosefish (yumekasago), southern bluefin tuna (minami‑maguro), blue shark, Dall’s porpoise, Japanese gnomefish (kuromutsu) |
The ministry gives typical weights: about 15 g for one piece of sushi or one slice of sashimi, and about 80 g for a serving of sashimi.
The ministry adds that yellowfin tuna (kihada), albacore (binnaga), young bluefin (mejimaguro) and canned tuna are fine in normal amounts. If you eat several fish from the same row in one week, it suggests reducing each — for example halving each of two “once a week” fish — and eating less the following week if you have eaten more.
At a sushi counter or a kaiseki restaurant, the fish most likely to matter are bluefin and bigeye tuna, which are the prized tuna of a sushi course, and golden‑eye snapper, which is often simmered or seared.
What about raw food, cured meat and undercooked meat?
Japan’s Food Safety Commission, the government body that assesses food risks, publishes guidance for pregnant women that covers two more points.
Listeria. The Commission names natural cheese that has not been heat‑treated, smoked salmon, cured ham, and meat or fish pâté — foods that are not heated, or that are eaten without heating. The health ministry notes that listeria is killed by heat, so eating food that has been cooked is one of the ways to prevent it.
Toxoplasma. The Commission notes that this parasite can be present in undercooked meat such as pork or lamb, and that infection from meat can be prevented by cooking it thoroughly to the center. It also advises washing vegetables and fruit that are eaten raw. The health ministry’s leaflet on meat states that raw meat and offal such as liver must be cooked until no red remains in the center.
The Commission also advises avoiding alcoholic drinks from the moment pregnancy is known until breastfeeding ends. In a Japanese restaurant, that means asking for no sake pairing — and, if you wish, asking whether a dish is finished with sake.
For raw fish itself, and for anything not listed here, ask your doctor. This guide does not decide it for you.
What can a restaurant cook for you?
A great deal, if it knows in advance. What we see in restaurant kitchens:
At a sushi counter. Many traditional pieces are cooked: simmered conger eel (ni‑anago), boiled prawn (ebi), simmered clam (ni‑hamaguri), simmered squid, and the rolled omelet (tamagoyaki). Sweet shrimp (amaebi) and some prawns are served raw, so ask. Seared pieces (aburi) are usually seared only on the surface and raw inside, so ask rather than assume. A chef who knows ahead can build a course around cooked pieces and the fish you are happy to eat, and tell you which pieces are bluefin or bigeye tuna.
At a kaiseki restaurant. Most courses can be served cooked: grilled fish, simmered dishes, tempura, chawanmushi (savory egg custard), rice dishes and soups. The raw‑fish course (mukōzuke) can usually be replaced with something cooked if you ask when you book.
At a tempura counter. Everything is cooked through by the nature of the cuisine, though a few pieces, such as sea urchin wrapped in shiso, may be cooked only briefly. Ask.
Why it has to be said when you book. At a set‑course restaurant the fish is bought and prepared before you arrive, sometimes days ahead. A chef told at the table can remove a piece; a chef told when you book can plan a whole course.
How do I ask a restaurant in Japan?
| What to say | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| I am pregnant, so I would like cooked dishes instead of raw fish, raw meat and raw egg. | 妊娠中のため、生の魚・生の肉・生卵ではなく、火を通した料理をお願いできますか。 | Ninshinchū no tame, nama no sakana, nama no niku, namatamago de wa naku, hi o tōshita ryōri o onegai dekimasu ka. |
| Which pieces are bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna or golden‑eye snapper? | 本まぐろ・めばちまぐろ・金目鯛は、どの料理ですか。 | Hon‑maguro, mebachi‑maguro, kinmedai wa, dono ryōri desu ka. |
| Could you leave those out, or keep them small? | それらは外すか、少なめにしていただけますか。 | Sorera wa hazusu ka, sukuname ni shite itadakemasu ka. |
| Is this cooked all the way through? | これは中まで火が通っていますか。 | Kore wa naka made hi ga tōtte imasu ka. |
| No alcohol for me, please. | お酒は飲みません。 | Osake wa nomimasen. |
Say these lines when you book, and show the same words in writing when you arrive. Our free Japanese dining card includes a line for pregnancy — raw fish, raw meat and raw egg avoided, cooked food welcome — for you and everyone at your table.
A few practical notes:
- Ask what the chef recommends cooked. A sushi chef proud of their ni‑anago will enjoy being asked for it.
- Your companions need not change anything. The ministry’s fish guidance is for pregnancy.
- Follow your doctor’s advice on everything in this guide, including raw fish.
For how Japanese restaurants handle dietary needs in general, see our guides to food allergies in Japan and dietary needs at Japanese counters.
Before you go
If you want a restaurant to know all of this without a conversation in Japanese, the dining card puts it on one page for the kitchen. When we book for you, we pass this on to the restaurant in Japanese.
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省), Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation Council, “妊婦への魚介類の摂食と水銀に関する注意事項” (notice on fish consumption and mercury for pregnant women), 2 November 2005, revised 1 June 2010: benefits of fish; not a request to stop eating these fish; guideline amounts by species; yellowfin, albacore, young bluefin and canned tuna fine in normal amounts; typical weights (about 15 g for one piece of sushi or slice of sashimi, about 80 g for a serving of sashimi); how to adjust when eating several; no concern for children and the general public. As of September 2026, the ministry’s page on mercury in fish lists the June 2010 revision as the current version. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/bukyoku/iyaku/syoku‑anzen/suigin/dl/index‑a.pdf and https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/bukyoku/iyaku/syoku‑anzen/suigin/
- Food Safety Commission of Japan (食品安全委員会), “お母さんになるあなたと周りの人たちへ” (for mothers‑to‑be and those around them), updated 24 July 2026: listeria and the foods named (natural cheese, smoked salmon, cured ham, meat or fish pâté); toxoplasma in undercooked meat such as pork or lamb, prevented by cooking to the center; washing raw vegetables and fruit; avoiding alcohol from the moment pregnancy is known until breastfeeding ends; large fish and methylmercury. https://www.fsc.go.jp/okaasan.html
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “リステリアによる食中毒” (food poisoning caused by listeria): listeria can infect the placenta and fetus; foods to watch; listeria is killed by heat. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000055260.html
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, leaflet on food poisoning from meat: raw meat and offal such as liver must be cooked until no red remains in the center. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06‑Seisakujouhou‑11130500‑Shokuhinanzenbu/leaflet‑ippann.pdf
This guide describes Japan’s public guidance and restaurant practice. It is not medical advice; during pregnancy, follow your doctor’s guidance.
