Only 17% of Japanese Hold Valid Passports

 

I was surprised to read that only 17% of Japanese citizens hold valid passports. I don’t know what I expected, but 17% seems like a small number. Currently 51% of Americans hold valid passports, up from 46% in 2023, and 30% in 2008.

I read that before the pandemic about a quarter of Japanese held valid passports. In addition to not traveling during the pandemic, the weak yen has compounded the issue. In the last five years the yen has lost a third of its value. My students tell me that they don’t often get a big enough block of time off from work to enable them to travel abroad. The one time in their lives that they do take a big international trip is for the honeymoon. 

One of the good things about living in Japan is that even though this is a small country, there are countless beautiful, cultural, historical, and natural places to visit. When the yen gets stronger, I will think about traveling out of the country again, but for the time being, I’m happy to stay in Japan. In any case, I will keep my passport up to date.

New Japanese Passport

Beginning March 24th, Japan will begin issuing a new passport design featuring a plastic photo page with an imbedded chip to prevent forgery. The plastic page features a cherry blossom pattern that is visible when the page is tilted, in addition to a crane watermark, according to the Foreign Ministry. The new passports are expected to take about two weeks to be issued, which is longer than the current passport time frame, which is one week and are printed at municipal government offices (city hall). The new design will be produced by the National Printing Bureau, where the country’s banknotes are made. 

I read online that the cost of a 10 year Japanese adult passport is ¥16,000. I don’t know if that cost will go up with the new passports. A 10 year American adult passport costs US$130.

Japan Passport Falls to Third Place

 

Since 2018, Japan has had the strongest passport in the world, based on the number of locations its holders can access without a visa, which was previously 190 countries.  Singapore now has the top spot, with 192 visa-free destinations. Germany, Italy, and Spain tie for second place, with 190 visa free destinations each. Japan ties for third place with 189 visa free destinations, along with six other countries (Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden). Australia ranks 6th with 186 visa free destinations. The United States ranks 8th with 184 visa free destination. Afghanistan holds the lowest ranking with 27 countries.

This ranking is based on the passport power ranking released by Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. and covers 199 passports and their ability to get visa free or visa on arrival status at 227 destinations. Check out this link to find where your country ranks.

Japan's New Passports

Japan's brand new passports are probably among the most beautiful in the world. The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji were painted between 1830 and 1832 by artist Katsushika Kokusai.  While the series actually consisted of 46 paintings, the best known 24 are featured in the new passports. Summer would normally be the time people would be using their passports, but this year overseas travel is on hold because of the pandemic. I think these pages are gorgeous and would just look at them this summer, if this was my passport.

Does your passport have some interesting pictures or pages?