Can You Keep a Meerkat as a Pet in Japan? Four gates: law, housing, time and cost

Published 13 September 2026 ／ Meerkat Cafe googoo, Kichijoji, Tokyo

Written by Yoshiyuki Azuma (co-founder; author of a Japanese book on living with meerkats). Reviewed on site by Ai Shoji (store manager; registered animal handling supervisor). Animal handling business registration 23-Tokyo-To-Ten-No.103430 (display and sale), Tokyo Metropolitan Government. 日本語版はこちら

This article is written from the records of googoo, a cafe in Kichijoji, Tokyo that keeps meerkats and nothing else. Since opening in October 2023 we have lived with more than 50 meerkats and sent 23 of them on to new families. Everything below comes from those records or from a named public source.

Gate 1 — The law

No national permit is required

The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) is not listed as a Specified Animal (特定動物, tokutei dobutsu — animals judged capable of harming people) under Japan's Act on Welfare and Management of Animals. It is also not listed in the CITES appendices. You therefore do not need a prefectural governor's permit to keep one.

Source: Ministry of the Environment, Specified Animal list — verified by googoo on 21 May 2026.

But the owner does carry a legal duty

Article 7 of the same Act sets out lifetime care (終生飼養, shusei shiyo) as a basic duty: you keep the animal properly until it dies. A meerkat lives about 10 to 12 years in captivity. Being able to picture your own life ten years from now is, in practice, the largest gate of the four.

Sources: Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, Article 7 ／ lifespan figure from googoo's husbandry records.

Where most people actually stop

Not the national law — the rules of the building you live in. Rented apartments in Japan very often prohibit animals, or permit only cats and small dogs. Check your lease before anything else.

Gate 2 — Housing: heat, digging, escape

Heat. Meerkats are animals of dry, warm country. They are weak against cold and against humidity. googoo holds roughly 24–28°C all year round. Japanese summers are humid and Japanese winters are cold, so this means climate control running through both.

Digging. Digging is not a habit you train out. It is what the animal is. A place where digging is allowed has to exist in the home.

Escape. Meerkats are fast, and they are good at gaps. Doors and windows need to be double — an inner barrier before the outer one — before the animal arrives, not after.

Source: googoo's husbandry environment records.

Gate 3 — Time: they are awake when you are out

Meerkats are diurnal. They are active in the day and sleep at night. That is the opposite of the schedule of most people who work. The hours a meerkat most wants company are the hours the house is usually empty.

Gate 4 — Cost: the two people forget

The price of the animal and the cost of each month are separate questions. We will not repeat the figures here; the meerkats currently looking for families, with their prices, are listed on our Japanese meerkat listing page. Instead, here are the two costs people most often leave out.

Electricity. Holding 24–28°C all year is an assumption, not an option. What that costs depends entirely on the size and insulation of your home. Estimate it for your home before you decide, not after.

A vet who will see the animal. Not every clinic that treats cats and dogs will treat a meerkat. Find the clinic before the animal arrives. Doing it in an emergency is too late.

Three things people commonly get wrong

“Can I take it for a walk?” We do not recommend it. Three reasons: outdoor temperature cannot be held; there is a risk of infection from other animals; and if the animal is startled and slips out of your hands, that cannot be undone.

“Can it live alone?” Yes. Many of the meerkats we have rehomed are the only meerkat in the household. What changes is that Gate 3 gets heavier — with no other meerkat, you are the group.

Source: googoo's post-adoption follow-up records.

“Can it be trained like a dog or a cat?” Training works differently. Expecting dog-and-cat obedience is the single most common cause of disappointment.

If even one gate stays shut

This is the part we most wanted to write. If one of the four does not open, we do not recommend going ahead. That is our answer even when it costs us the sale. Meeting meerkats at a cafe is a complete and honest ending in itself.

Questions we are asked

Is it legal to keep a meerkat in Japan?

Yes, and no permit is required. It is not a Specified Animal under the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, and not in the CITES appendices (Ministry of the Environment list, verified by googoo 21 May 2026).

How long do they live?

About 10 to 12 years in captivity (googoo's records).

What temperature do they need?

googoo holds roughly 24–28°C throughout the year.

Can I walk one outdoors?

We do not recommend it — temperature, infection risk, and the risk of losing the animal if it is startled.

Can I keep just one?

Yes, and many owners do. The time commitment rises, because you take the place of the group.

Are they awake in the day or at night?

Day. They are diurnal and sleep at night.