Airline liability for damaged baggage?

What the Law Says

Airline liability for damaged, delayed, or lost baggage in Japan is governed by the Montreal Convention, which applies to all international carriage by air and has been incorporated into Japanese law through the Act on Regulation of International Air Transport.

Under the Montreal Convention, airlines are strictly liable for damage to checked baggage occurring during international carriage — meaning passengers do not need to prove negligence. Liability applies from the moment the baggage is handed over to the carrier until it is returned to the passenger.

The maximum compensation for damaged or destroyed baggage is 1,288 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger — approximately ¥230,000 as of 2024. Passengers may declare a higher value at check-in and pay an additional fee to increase this limit.

Passengers must report damage to baggage within 7 days of receipt. For delayed baggage, notice must be given within 21 days of receipt. Legal action must be brought within 2 years from the date of arrival, or the date the aircraft should have arrived.

The Montreal Convention also permits airlines to exclude or limit liability only if they can prove the damage resulted from the passenger’s own fault or the inherent defect, quality, or vice of the baggage.

Statutory Text

The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of destruction or loss of, or damage to, checked baggage upon condition only that the event which caused the damage occurred on board the aircraft or during any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.

— Montreal Convention, Art. 17(2)

Statutory Text

The carrier's liability in respect of checked baggage shall be limited to 1,288 Special Drawing Rights per passenger unless the passenger has made, at the time of checking in the baggage, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination and has paid a supplementary sum if required.

— Montreal Convention, Art. 22(2)

Statutory Text

The right to damages shall be extinguished if an action is not brought within a period of two years, reckoned from the date of arrival at the destination, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived.

— Montreal Convention, Art. 35(1)

What to Do

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