VisaJapan ends five-year passport applications for adults
Japanese applicants aged eighteen or over now normally apply for a ten-year passport. Existing five-year passports remain usable, and replacement documents with the same expiry date are a separate option.
Official source date: 2026-11-02
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
The July rule does not invalidate an existing passport
Japan’s Foreign Ministry passport questions-and-answers resource, updated on 22 October 2026, confirms that adults have been able to apply only for the ordinary ten-year passport since 1 July. Applicants under eighteen use the five-year passport. The change affects Japanese passport applications, not foreign visitors applying for Japanese visas.
An adult who already holds a five-year passport may continue using it after July; the ministry does not require early replacement solely because the normal application options changed. The guidance also recognises passports with the same remaining validity as the previous document and cases where validity must be restricted. Applicants should therefore distinguish a routine new passport from replacing a book whose details or available pages need attention. This current guide explains the operative July rules rather than presenting them as a new November announcement.
Check the application date and allow for processing
The ministry’s fee-revision guidance says the revised charges apply to applications accepted from the specified July commencement, rather than to passports merely collected after that date. Its timing explanation includes the relevant local-time treatment for overseas missions. An applicant cannot assume that a later collection date changes the fee attached to an earlier accepted application.
The same resource gives usual processing estimates of around two weeks in Japan and two weeks to one month overseas, excluding non-working days. Actual collection availability depends on the receiving office’s assessment and arrangements. Online applications requiring correction are paused until the applicant responds. Use the ministry’s links to the relevant prefectural office or overseas mission to check the collection date, especially before paying for travel that depends on the new document.
Compare domestic online and paper charges
The ministry’s published fee table lists the adult ten-year passport at JPY8,900 for an online application in Japan and JPY9,300 for a counter application under the July schedule. For applicants under eighteen, the five-year passport costs JPY4,400 online or JPY4,800 at a counter. These figures relate to the stated domestic application methods; overseas missions publish local-currency charges.
The table also identifies a different adult product retaining the former passport’s expiry date, at JPY5,400 online or JPY5,800 at a counter. That option should not be mistaken for purchasing another full ten years. The fee document explains the price categories; the passport questions-and-answers resource explains which circumstances justify the different document. Select the correct application before calculating the cost.
Prepare evidence for a new passport or renewal
The ministry’s document guide distinguishes first applications, expired or lost passports, ordinary renewals and changes of registered particulars. For a new passport it lists an application, family-register evidence, photograph and identity documentation as applicable, with additional requirements depending on the case. Overseas applicants may also need evidence of identity and lawful stay in the country of application.
Family-register documents and photographs must meet the stated recency requirements, generally six months. Online submission can change how family-register evidence is supplied, including through electronic information or the prescribed identification code overseas. Do not assume an online application eliminates nationality checks. Use the document guide’s column for domestic or overseas submission and the actual application category, rather than combining requirements from unrelated checklists.
Overseas residents should follow their own mission
The Japanese Embassy in Washington’s July guidance applies to residents of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. It lists USD62 for the adult ten-year passport and USD32 for the under-eighteen five-year passport for applications from 1 July 2026. Its payment instructions specify cash; these local amounts should not be assumed to apply at every mission worldwide.
The embassy says issuance takes at least three weeks and the applicant must personally collect the passport, even where someone else submits an eligible application. Its guidance explains when the family register can be omitted for an unchanged renewal and what evidence is needed for a name change. A resident elsewhere should consult the mission serving their own address before attending or sending documents.
