Types of the Japanese passport

1. Long-term Normal Passport

• Length of validity: 10 years

Colour of the passport

• Colour: Red

Description of the Japanese passport

• It is a long-term normal passport for business and tourism
• This passport is for Japanese citizen adults (20 years of age and over).
• Blue, dark blue, or beige Japanese passports may not be held concurrently.
• Cost: ¥16,000

Benefits of the passport

• Most people nowadays have this type of passport. Except for the last page, translated from Japanese, everything in the passport is written bilingually in English and Japanese.

2. Normal Passport

• Length of validity: 5 years
• It is a normal passport for business and tourism

Colour of the passport

• Colour: Blue
• This passport is for all Japanese citizens, both adults, and children.
• Cost: ¥11,000

Description of the Japanese passport

• It is often referred to as the “child’s” passport because it is the only passport that minors can possess (aside from the Return to Japan Travel Document and the Emergency Passport).

Benefits of the passport

• This is because children grow quickly and no longer resemble their photographs after a few years.
• However, many Japanese adults who travel only a few times a year choose the blue passport because it is less expensive than the red one.

3. Emergency Passport

• Length of validity: 1 year

Colour of the passport

• Colour: Dark Blue

Description of the Japanese passport

• one’s regular passport has been destroyed, lost, or stolen
• The IC chip MRP passport machine, which produces standard passports, is broken or unavailable.
• There is insufficient time to wait for the machine to be repaired or replaced.

Benefits of the passport

• Travel to a country other than Japan must be completed in less than ten days.
• The emergency passport is given to those who are in a similarly bad situation as the “Travel Document for Return to Japan” beige booklet mentioned above. Still, it is used for cases where the person does not need to go back to Japan immediately but rather needs to go to another country first and is time-pressed.

4. Diplomatic Passport

• Length of validity: length of the (usually single) mission; no set expiration date

Colour of the passport

• Color: Light brown

Description of the Japanese passport

• It is for foreign ambassadors, consuls, diplomats, minister-level government officials, and high-level officials from the three branches of government (Minster of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister, etc), the royal family (except for the Emperor and Empress; by international convention, constitutional heads of state do not use or require passports and thus do not possess them).
• may possess simultaneously with a regular passport
• You may not use this passport for non-official business; instead, use your regular passport for non-official travel and business.

Benefits of the passport

• A Diplomatic Passport is similar to an Official Passport in that your role and relationship with the government are listed on the first page. It lacks the legal warnings found on the last page of standard red and blue passports.
• Diplomatic passports are only issued to high-level officials; for example, not everyone who works at the US Embassy in Tokyo has one.
• Diplomatic passports may provide protection from search and arrest for you, your residence, and your immediate family (as listed inside the passport).

5. Official Passport

• Length of validity: Length of mission + approximately 6 months
• Cost: free (often called the “no-fee passport”)

Colour of the passport

• color: Green

Description of the Japanese passport

• may possess simultaneously with a regular passport
• Restrictions: many

Benefits of the passport

• The first page specifies your purpose and who sent you, as well as the countries for which the passport is valid. For non-official travel and business, you must use your regular passport.
• An official passport is one issued to public servants and government employees for the purpose of carrying out official duties while abroad.
• While the passport may be mistaken for a diplomatic passport, it provides no additional benefits to the holder beyond those provided by a regular passport.

What is the processing time?

• It generally takes 5 days.

How to apply?

• Japanese Passport Service is Available by Appointment only and you need to call 415-999-3067.

Procedure to apply and obtain Japan Passport for Adult/Children/minor

• Passport applications for minors under the age of 18 are only accepted for 5-year passports.
• Even applicants aged 0 must apply for their own passports.
• Download the application form for minors from here.
• Please send a 9″ x 12″ self-addressed, three-stamp envelope with your request for a passport application form (the application form may not be folded). Please verify the postage needed if you are requesting more than three applications. Please send a note requesting the number of passport applications you require and indicating whether a 5- or 10-year application is required. Please note that we DO NOT accept application submissions via the postal service. Applications MUST be submitted in person by individuals.
• To express disagreement in writing with other supporting documentation, such as “Koseki Tohon” (family registry) that proves your parental authority, one must visit the Japanese Embassy, Consulate-General, or prefectural passport office in Japan. Ask the Japanese Embassy, Consulate-General, or prefectural passport office where you want to submit the documents for more information on the required paperwork.
• Applications for authentication or apostille must be mailed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Certification Section (Tokyo headquarters) as a precaution against the spread of new coronavirus illnesses (Letter Pack recommended).

Documents Required

• the formal record that needs to be verified (original document issued within three months)
• Identification Document of parents Driving license, basic resident registration card, passport or residence card etc.
• Please bring your photo ID from a government agency to the desk.
• For further details check here.

What is the cost?

• There isn’t a cost. The applicant must pay the postal charges for a mail-in application, including the cost of the return shipment.

Documents required

• Fill in the application form
• One Family Registry (Koseki Tohon or Koseki Shohon※), issued within the past six months, is required if:
• The registered domicile (registered address, known as Honseki) or name has changed (for the first time, adding a non-Japanese spouse’s name requires an official document such as a green card or marriage certificate to verify the spelling of the name) OR.
• A minor child’s parents are divorced, to show proof of custody
• One photo, taken within the past six months
• For further details check here.

Is the Japanese passport ranked as the most powerful passport in the world?

• According to the Guide Passport Ranking Index, the Japanese passport is currently ranked first. It allows visa-free travel to 194 countries.
• As a result, it is regarded as the most desirable passport in the world, with the highest mobility score.
• Japanese passport holders have visa-free travel and visa-on-arrival access to countries such as Brazil, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, allowing them to travel around the world immediately.

How many countries you can travel to visa-free with Japanese passports?

• It allows visa-free travel to 194 countries.
• List of countries