Passport Act
旅券法
The rules on passports: how one is applied for and issued, how long it is valid, when it can be refused, called back or stop being valid, and the penalties for misusing one.
- Text in force since
- Promulgated
- Articles
- 33
- Amendments on the way
- 1
What this law does
- A person who wants an ordinary passport (一般旅券) applies in Japan to the Minister for Foreign Affairs through the governor of the prefecture where they have their address or residence, and abroad to a consular officer (領事官); on receiving it, the official checks that the applicant is who they say and, in Japan, that they live at the address or residence on the form, and may ask for documents proving this. They hand in the application form, ordinarily a certified copy of the family register (戸籍謄本), which is requested under the Family Register Act (戸籍法), their photograph, and any entry papers or other documents specially needed for the destination and purpose of travel; the applicant's spouse, a relative within the second degree, or another person the applicant names (other than one a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order rules out) can hand these in for them. The applicant signs the passport or hands in their signature (someone a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order names as unable to sign may have their name written instead), and the passport is handed to them in person — in Japan by the prefectural governor, abroad by the consular officer.(Art. 3(1), Art. 3(2), Art. 3(3), Art. 3(4), Art. 2(1)(v), Art. 2(1)(vi), Art. 3(6), Art. 15(1), Art. 8(1), Family Register Act Art. 10(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Read the full overview
- An ordinary passport is a multiple-journey passport valid for 10 years for every region except those the Minister for Foreign Affairs designates, or for 5 years if the applicant is under 18. The Minister or a consular officer may instead list the destinations one by one or give a shorter validity — when issuing a second passport, one with no electronic record, or one to a person who falls under a ground for refusal in Article 13 — and, except for a second passport, must then promptly tell the applicant in writing, with reasons. For travel to a designated region, the passport names its destinations and is for one return journey, valid for 10 years (5 under 18), unless the Minister finds appropriate a multiple-journey passport, which still names its destinations one by one and is valid for up to that term.(Art. 5(1), Art. 5(2), Art. 5(3), Art. 14(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- While a passport is valid, its holder cannot be issued another, unless the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer finds it especially necessary for their protection or travel. The holder may apply for a new one before the old one runs out when less than a year of validity is left, the visa pages are full, it is badly damaged, or the Minister or consul finds it especially necessary for the holder's protection or travel convenience, and must apply without delay when their name, or another recorded detail a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order names, changes. On an application made for a changed detail or full visa pages, a holder aged 18 or over can ask for a passport valid only for what is left of the old one; on any of these applications, the old passport is handed back when the new one is received.(Art. 4-2(1), Art. 11(1), Art. 10(1), Art. 5(4), Art. 8(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A holder whose ordinary passport lists its destinations one by one must, before travelling on it anywhere else, apply to add the destination — in Japan by coming to the prefecture and applying to the Minister for Foreign Affairs through the prefectural governor, abroad by coming to a consulate and applying to a consular officer — with the passport, the application form and any documents specially needed for the destination and purpose of travel.(Art. 9(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A passport stops being valid (失効), among other cases, when its holder dies or loses Japanese nationality (who is a Japanese national is set by the Nationality Act (国籍法)), when its validity runs out, when it is not collected within six months of issue (for an ordinary passport issued abroad, unless unavoidable circumstances are found), and when a return order is not obeyed by its deadline. A passport that stopped being valid by death or loss of nationality, by running out, by a report of its loss, or because the holder of a single-journey passport did not leave Japan within six months of issue or came home, must be handed back without delay — in Japan, an ordinary passport by its holder to the prefectural governor or the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and an official passport (公用旅券) by the head of the ministry or agency to the Minister for Foreign Affairs; abroad, by its holder to a consular officer — as must an official passport once the government business it was issued for ends. If the holder wants to keep it, the official who receives it may mark it as cancelled (消印) and give it back.(Art. 18(1), Art. 19(5), Art. 19(6), Nationality Act Art. 1(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A holder whose ordinary passport is lost or burnt must report it without delay — in Japan to the Minister for Foreign Affairs through the prefectural governor, abroad to a consular officer — and, where illness, disability, difficult travel or another truly unavoidable reason makes it hard to report themselves, may report through their spouse, a relative within the second degree or another person they name (other than one a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order rules out). The official checks the reporter's identity, that the passport was in fact lost or burnt and, in Japan, that the reporter lives at the address given, and may ask for documents proving these. On the report the passport stops being valid, unless the loss cannot be confirmed and the reporter is told so.(Art. 17(1), Art. 17(2), Art. 17(3), Art. 17(4), Art. 18(1)(vii)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A Japanese national abroad who wants to return to Japan can be issued a travel document (渡航書) for the return instead of a passport, on their application to a consular officer, where the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the consul finds it necessary and the person has no passport and must return urgently with no time to get one, cannot be issued a passport, or handed their passport back under a return order. Where the person cannot apply themselves, for example because there is no consulate where they live, a relative or another person a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order names applies for them. The official may set the travel document's validity and the transit points on the way home.(Art. 19-3(1), Art. 19-3(2), Art. 19-3(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A passport holder who sets up an address or residence abroad and stays there three months or more must report it to the consular officer for that area, as a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order provides.(Art. 16(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- An applicant in Japan pays the State a fee of an amount a Cabinet Order sets for each procedure, and the prefecture may collect its own fee under its local ordinance (条例); an applicant abroad pays one fee of an amount a Cabinet Order sets. Where a passport issued on an application made on or after 1 July 2026 stops being valid because it was not collected within six months, the person who applied for it pays, on their first application for a passport within five years of the day it stopped being valid, twice the State fee in Japan, or abroad an amount a Cabinet Order sets on that doubled basis; for a passport applied for earlier, the older rule in the exceptions below applies.(Art. 20(1), Art. 20(2), Art. 20(3), Art. 20-2(1), Art. 20-2(2), Suppl. Prov. Art. 4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Applying for a passportPassport validityRefusal of a passportLost passportWhen a passport stops being validReturning a passportTravel document for returning to JapanPenalties
Amendments
A Japanese law is changed by another law or order that rewrites it — an . This law has 1 amendment on the way — , but . Its amendment history is below. The amendments this site has read the changes of are on this law's amendments page, provision by provision, in Japanese and English.
Date not yet set
Not yet in force
Act on the Arrangement, etc. of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act for Establishment of the Disaster Management Agency
防災庁設置法の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
On the day Act No. 61 of 2026 (防災庁設置法) . The exact day is not fixed yet.
13 amendments already in force
17 July 2026
The text on this site
Act on the Arrangement, etc. of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act for Establishment of the Disaster Management Agency
防災庁設置法の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律
1 July 2026
12 June 2025
Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.
情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律
1 June 2025
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
23 May 2025
Act Partially Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. to Respond to Advances in Information and Communications Technology, etc.
情報通信技術の進展等に対応するための刑事訴訟法等の一部を改正する法律
27 March 2023
17 June 2022
Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.
刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律
1 April 2022
1 September 2021
19 May 2021
16 December 2019
Act Partially Amending the Act on Use of Information and Communications Technology in Administrative Procedures, etc., and Other Acts to Improve Convenience for Persons Concerned in Administrative Procedures, etc. and to Simplify and Streamline Administrative Operations through the Use of Information and Communications Technology
情報通信技術の活用による行政手続等に係る関係者の利便性の向上並びに行政運営の簡素化及び効率化を図るための行政手続等における情報通信の技術の利用に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律
20 June 2018
20 March 2014
e-Gov gives no title for this amendment
Who it applies to
It applies to
- People who apply for, hold or use a passport. The Act does not state in words who may be issued one. It does say that an application for an ordinary passport ordinarily comes with a certified copy of the family register (戸籍謄本), that a passport stops being valid when its holder loses Japanese nationality, and that the travel document is for Japanese nationals abroad; who is a Japanese national is set by the Nationality Act (国籍法).(Art. 2(1)(vii), Art. 3(1)(ii), Art. 3(2), Art. 18(1)(i), Art. 19-3(1), Nationality Act Art. 1(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- People travelling abroad on national government business, and the spouse, children or employees they take with them or call to join them, who are issued an official passport (公用旅券). It is requested from the Minister for Foreign Affairs by the head of the ministry or agency they belong to (the Minister for Foreign Affairs, where they belong to none), or, abroad, also by the person themselves from a consular officer.(Art. 2(1)(i), Art. 2(1)(iii), Art. 4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
1 more
- Anyone who uses a passport or travel document in another person's name, or who hands over, lends, takes, borrows or holds one in another person's name, or a forged one, for it to be used — the penalties reach any such person, and offences committed abroad too.(Art. 23(1)(ii), Art. 23(1)(iv), Art. 23(1)(v), Art. 24(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
Special rules and exceptions (6)
- In an urgent case, where the prefectural governor or the Minister for Foreign Affairs finds it necessary, an applicant in Japan may go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in person and apply directly to the Minister, and the fee is then the State fee plus an amount a Cabinet Order sets. A lost or burnt passport can be reported directly in the same way.(Art. 3(1), Art. 20(4), Art. 17(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A certified copy of the family register (戸籍謄本) is not needed when applying for a new passport before the old one runs out under Article 11, unless the governor or consular officer finds it especially necessary to confirm the applicant's personal status, or in cases a Ministry of Foreign Affairs Order sets where they find that status clear.(Art. 3(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Where illness, disability, difficult travel or another truly unavoidable reason makes it hard for the applicant to come in person, and their identity is clear, the passport may be delivered without their coming, by the most suitable way that makes sure they receive it.(Art. 8(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Chapter 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act (行政手続法) — its procedure for adverse decisions (不利益処分), including the hearing (聴聞) or chance to explain (弁明の機会の付与) — does not apply to an order to return an ordinary passport because its holder is found to fall, or comes to fall, under a ground for refusal, except where the ground is that the destination will not admit them or that they are a returnee likely to become a public burden.(Art. 19(3), Administrative Procedure Act Art. 13(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- No fee is payable where the need for a new ordinary passport arose from the fault of a government office, and in a large-scale disaster the Minister for Foreign Affairs may reduce or waive the State fee where especially necessary to ease applicants' burden, as a Cabinet Order provides.(Art. 20(5), Art. 20(6), Art. 20-2(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The doubled fee after a passport went uncollected applies only where that passport was issued on an application made on or after 1 July 2026. Where it was applied for earlier, the earlier wording applies: in Japan, the fee that earlier wording's own Article 20(1) set for that kind of passport (14,000 yen for a 10-year one; 9,000 yen for a 5-year one, or 4,000 yen under 12; 4,000 yen for others) plus 4,000 yen, and abroad an amount a Cabinet Order sets on that basis — a rule that itself reaches only passports applied for on or after the day Act No. 33 of 2022 (令和4年法律第33号) came into force.(Suppl. Prov. Art. 4(1), Art. 20(1) until 30 June 2026, Art. 20(2) until 30 June 2026, Art. 20-2(2) until 30 June 2026, Suppl. Prov. Art. 6(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it is enforced (8)
- The Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer may refuse to issue an ordinary passport, or to add a destination, to a person who: may not enter the destination under its laws; is being prosecuted for a crime punishable by death, life imprisonment or a maximum of two years or more, or has had a warrant issued on suspicion of such a crime reported to the Minister; has been sentenced to imprisonment (拘禁刑) or heavier and has not yet served it or been released from serving it; has been punished under Article 23, or under Article 155(1) or Article 158 of the Penal Code (刑法) for forging a passport or travel document or using a forged one, or for attempting to use one; is a returnee the State helped under a separate Act and likely to become a public burden abroad; or whom the Minister has substantial grounds to believe likely to seriously and directly harm Japan's interests or public security. Before finding that last ground, the Minister must consult the Minister of Justice.(Art. 13(1), Art. 13(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- A decision to refuse a passport or an added destination is notified to the applicant promptly, in writing with the reasons.(Art. 14(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer may, where they find it necessary, order a holder to hand back their passport by a deadline if: after it was handed over, the holder is found to fall, or comes to fall, under a ground for refusal in Article 13; it was issued or a destination added by mistake or negligence; travel must be stopped to protect the holder's life, body or property; or the holder's stay is seriously harming the general trust in, or interests of, Japanese nationals at the destination so that they must stop travelling and come home. Before ordering a return on the ground that the holder is likely to harm Japan's interests or public security, the Minister must consult the Minister of Justice. An order to return an ordinary passport is notified promptly in writing with the reasons, and where the holder cannot be found, or the notice cannot be sent for another unavoidable reason, its content is published in the Official Gazette (官報) and treated as received 20 days later.(Art. 19(1), Art. 19(2), Art. 19(4), Art. 19-2(1), Art. 19-2(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The Minister for Foreign Affairs may have immigration inspectors (入国審査官) hand over the written notice of a return order.(Art. 21(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Up to five years' imprisonment (拘禁刑), a fine of up to 3 million yen, or both, is the penalty for getting a passport or travel document by false statements or other wrongful acts; using one in another person's name; handing over or lending one's own for someone else to use; handing over, lending, taking, borrowing or holding another person's, or a forged one, for it to be used; not handing back a passport by the deadline of a return order; or using one that is no longer valid. Attempts are punished too, except attempts at holding or at not handing back. These offences are punished even when committed abroad.(Art. 23(1), Art. 23(3), Art. 24(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Getting a passport or travel document by wrongful acts, or dealing in or holding another person's or a forged one, for profit carries up to seven years' imprisonment (拘禁刑), a fine of up to 5 million yen, or both.(Art. 23(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
- Travelling to a region not listed as a destination in one's ordinary passport, or, on a travel document that names transit points for the way home, travelling somewhere other than those points, is punished by a fine of up to 300,000 yen.(Art. 23(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
- The Minister for Foreign Affairs may confiscate (没取) the passport or travel document of a person who committed an offence under Article 23 (other than an attempt to get one by wrongful acts), and any document forged as a passport or travel document.(Art. 25(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
How it connects to other laws
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Where the translation comes from
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- 111
- 89not translated
The Ministry of Justice's translation is shown only where the Japanese it translates matches the law in force today. Everywhere else the English is a machine translation, marked on the paragraph itself.
Only the Japanese is the law, and no lawyer has reviewed the machine translation.
Sources
Everything this page rests on
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)旅券法 — the text in force from 2026-07-17Original
- e-Gov (Digital Agency)旅券法 — revision historyOriginal
- Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of JusticePassport Act — Ministry of Justice translationOriginal
- Machine translation, not official
- Written for this site with AIEnglish titles of amending laws, written for this site
- Written for this site with AIDescriptions of each law, written for this site
- Written for this site with AICorrections to the Ministry of Justice's English of paragraphs
- Worked out by this site from e-Gov's text