Shipping speakers overseas from Japan

Japan Post will not accept speakers. Why not?

If you try to ship speakers overseas through Japan Post, you will find that the company does not accept speakers of any kind. Some speakers are magnet-shielded while others are not. The magnet-shielded ones are not considered dangerous goods when transported by air. However, it is not possible for Japan Post to check on whether each speaker is magnet-shielded. That is why the company will not accept any kind of speaker for international shipping.

Some people misunderstand the reason why Japan Post does not accept speakers. The reason is that magnets affect the airplanes’ electric devices. Therefore, speakers are considered dangerous goods.

Can they be shipped as airfreight?

Magnet-shielded speakers can be accepted for air transport if you provide some kind of proof that the model is magnet-shielded.

Manufacturers of speakers issue or have a document called “test result reporting form” for their products which show the result of testing for safety of magnet’s power (i.e. to what expend they are magnet-shielded with numerous specs).

Most speakers can be shipped via ocean.

You should have no problem transporting speakers by ocean. However, the minimum for ocean freight is one cubic meter. Therefore, this will perhaps be an option only when one is sending a large vintage speaker or other audio equipment (such as an amplifier) or when there is no other option.