A person who seeks to be issued a passport (referred to as "applicant for issuance" below in this Article) must sign their name in the designated space on the passport or submit the signature of the applicant for issuance pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; provided, however, that if the applicant for issuance is a person who is specified by Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a person who has difficulty in signing their name, the name of the applicant for issuance written by a third party or their stamped name may substitute for the signature, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A holder of a passport who stays abroad for three months or more after having determined their domicile or residence must file a notification with the consular officer in that region, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

①If an ordinary passport has become lost or was destroyed by fire, the holder of an ordinary passport must notify the Minister for Foreign Affairs through a prefectural governor when in Japan, or a consular officer when abroad of that fact, without delay, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; provided, however, that when giving a notification in Japan, if it is urgent and a prefectural governor or the Minister for Foreign Affairs finds it necessary, the holder may appear directly at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and notify the Minister for Foreign Affairs of that fact.

②In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if it is found to be difficult for the holder of an ordinary passport to personally give the notification due to a disease, physical disability, difficult traffic situation, or other really unavoidable reasons, the notification may be given by any of the following persons, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

③In accepting the notification of loss or destruction by fire of an ordinary passport referred to in paragraph (1), a prefectural governor (Minister for Foreign Affairs, when notifying the Minister for Foreign Affairs directly) is to verify the identity of the notifier, verify that the notifier resides in the domicile or residence stated in the written notification of the lost passport, and verify the fact that the ordinary passport has been lost or was destroyed by fire, and may request the notifier to present or submit documents in support of those facts pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of verification.

④In accepting the notification of loss or destruction by fire of an ordinary passport referred to in paragraph (1), a consular officer is to verify the identity of the notifier and the fact that the ordinary passport has been lost or was destroyed by fire, and may request the notifier to present or submit necessary documents for the purpose of verification.

⑤If an official passport has been lost or was destroyed by fire, the holder of an official passport must notify the Minister for Foreign Affairs through the head of each ministry and agency when in Japan, or the Minister for Foreign Affairs through the head of each ministry and agency, or a consular officer when abroad, without delay, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

⑥In accepting the notification of loss or destruction by fire of an official passport referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer is to verify the identity of the notifier and the fact that the official passport has been lost or was destroyed by fire, and may request the notifier to present or submit necessary documents for the purpose of verification.

①A passport expires in cases falling under any of the following items:

②If a passport has expired due to falling under item (vii) or (viii) of the preceding paragraph, the Minister for Foreign Affairs must publish that fact in an Official Gazette without delay.

①In the following cases, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer finds it necessary to have a passport returned, they may order the holder of the passport to return the passport by setting a deadline:

②The provisions of Article 13, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the case referred to in item (i) or (ii) of the preceding paragraph in which the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer seeks to determine whether the holder of an ordinary passport falls under Article 13, paragraph (1), item (vii).

③The provisions of Chapter III of the Administrative Procedure Act (Act No. 88 of 1993) do not apply to the order to return an ordinary passport issued based on the provisions of paragraph (1) in the case referred to in item (i) or (ii) of that paragraph (excluding an order issued to a person that falls under Article 13, paragraph (1), item (i) or (vi)).

④When the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer has decided to order the return of an ordinary passport based on the provisions of paragraph (1), the Minister or the consular officer must promptly notify the holder of the ordinary passport of that fact using a document to which the reason is attached.

⑤When a passport currently possessed by the holder has expired due to falling under any of the cases referred to in paragraph (1), item (i), items (iii) through (v), or item (vii) of the preceding Article, and in the case of an official passport, when the official duties of the national government related to the issuance of that passport has ceased to exist or has finished, when in Japan for an ordinary passport, the holder must return the passport to the prefectural governor or the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and for an official passport, the head of each ministry or agency must return the passport to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Japan, and when abroad, the holder of the passport must return the passport to a consular officer, without delay.

⑥When the holder of a passport required to be returned (excluding a passport ordered to be returned based on the provisions of paragraph (1)) wishes to possess the passport, a prefectural governor, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or a consular officer who has received the return of the passport may put a void mark on the passport and give it back to the holder of the passport, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

①If the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer issues a notice ordering the return of an ordinary passport pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4) of the preceding Article ( referred to as "notice" below in this Article), and the whereabouts of the holder of the ordinary passport is unknown or the document that should be sent cannot be sent for other unavoidable circumstances, the Minister for Foreign Affairs may publish the content of the notice in Official Gazette in lieu of issuing the notice.

②In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the notice is deemed to have reached the holder of the ordinary passport on the day on which twenty days have passed commencing from the day on which the Minister for Foreign Affairs published the content of the notice in an Official Gazette.

③In the case referred to in paragraph (1), the Minister for Foreign Affairs is to notify the consular officer in the region where the Minister finds it necessary of the fact that the content of the notice has been published in an Official Gazette without delay, and the consular officer who has been notified is to post the content of the notification in an appropriate place of the consulate to which they belong.

①The Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer may issue a travel document in lieu of a passport to a Japanese national in a foreign country who falls under any of the following items and wishes to return to Japan, based on their application when the Minister or the consular officer finds this to be necessary:

②A person who seeks to be issued a travel document is to apply for the issuance of a travel document by submitting a written application for issuance of a travel document, other documents specified by Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a photograph to a consular officer. In such a case, if a consulate has not been established in the region where the person currently resides or if the person cannot file the application due to unavoidable circumstances, the person's relative or other persons concerned specified by Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to file the application with the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer.

③The travel document issued based on the application referred to in the preceding paragraph is to be delivered by the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer to the person who applied for the issuance of the travel document by requesting the person's appearance.

④Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding three paragraphs, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer finds it particularly necessary for the person who falls under any of the items of paragraph (1) to return to Japan, the Minister or the consular officer may issue a travel document not based on an application, or deliver a travel document by the most appropriate method found for the person to surely receive the travel document without requesting their appearance.

⑤when issuing a travel document based on the provisions of paragraph (1) or the preceding paragraph, the Minister for Foreign Affairs or a consular officer may designate the validity period of the travel document and the transit point for returning to Japan.