- Japan will slash passport fees for adults from 16,300 yen to approximately 9,000 yen starting July 1, 2026.
- Adults will no longer have the five-year passport option, transitioning exclusively to the reduced 10-year validity structure.
- The government will simultaneously triple the departure tax from 1,000 yen to over 3,000 yen per trip.
(JAPAN) — Japan will cut the application fee for a 10-year passport to approximately 9,000 yen from July 1st, lowering the cost by about 7,000 yen from the current charge of 16,300 yen for in-person applications and 15,900 yen for online applications.
The reduction applies to applicants aged 18 and older. Under the same changes, five-year passports will no longer be available to people in that age group.
Children will also see lower fees. The charge for a five-year passport for those under 18 will fall to 4,500 yen, down from the current 11,000 yen for ages 12-17 and 6,000 yen for children under 12.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi announced the changes on December 23. The government said the move aims to raise Japan’s passport ownership rate, which stood at 17.8 percent in 2024.
Lawmakers revised the passport law during the 2026 parliamentary session to put the new fee structure in place. The changes take effect in July.
Japan will introduce another travel-related increase at the same time. The departure tax will rise from 1,000 yen per trip to more than 3,000 yen, also effective in July.
The passport changes reshape the choices available to applicants. Anyone aged 18 or older who applies after July 1st will move into the lower-priced 10-year passport structure, while the five-year option disappears for that group.
That leaves a clearer split by age. Adults get the reduced 10-year fee, and minors remain eligible for five-year passports at the new 4,500 yen rate.
Application timing now carries an obvious cost difference. An adult who files a 10-year passport request before July 1st still faces the current fee of 16,300 yen in person or 15,900 yen online, while an application filed on or after that date shifts to approximately 9,000 yen.
The online and in-person gap also narrows under the new structure because both current prices sit far above the revised level. The government has not set out a separate new online figure in the information released here, but it has said the 10-year passport application fee will fall to approximately 9,000 yen.
Families with younger applicants face a different calculation. A child under 18 applying for a five-year passport after July 1st would fall under the new 4,500 yen fee instead of the current age-based charges.
The policy also lands against a broader government effort to push more Japanese residents to hold passports. With ownership at 17.8 percent in 2024, the lower fee appears designed to reduce one barrier to applying.
Motegi’s announcement tied the measure directly to that goal. The overhaul gives the government a simpler pricing message as it tries to encourage take-up: a 10-year passport for adults at about 9,000 yen, beginning July 1st.
Travelers, however, will encounter the passport cut alongside a higher charge at the point of departure. The rise in the departure tax from 1,000 yen to more than 3,000 yen means lower passport costs and higher per-trip taxes will arrive in the same month.
Anyone planning to apply around the changeover date will need to check which age category applies on the day of application and whether the request falls before or after July 1st. That matters most for adults deciding when to file for a 10-year passport and for households preparing applications for children.
Applicants will also need to watch for updated guidance and forms as the revised law moves into effect. By July, Japan’s passport system will look different from the current one, with the adult five-year passport removed, the under-18 five-year fee cut to 4,500 yen, and the standard adult 10-year passport set at about 9,000 yen.
