[Edaily Kang Kyung-rok, Travel Correspondent] The Japanese government will significantly reduce passport issuance fees starting July 1. This measure aims to boost the passport ownership rate among Japanese citizens—which remains significantly lower than that of major developed nations—and revive stagnant demand for overseas travel. It is expected that if this policy leads to an increase in passport issuance among Japanese citizens, the number of Japanese tourists visiting South Korea will also rise.

. According to the Asahi Shimbun

, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to reduce the fee for “10-year passports” for applicants aged 18 and older, submitted on or after July 1, from the current 16,300 yen to 9,300 yen—a reduction of 7,000 yen (approximately 43%). This effectively cuts the cost of passport issuance by half.

This fee reduction is a last-ditch effort to address the “reluctance to travel abroad” among Japanese citizens. The passport ownership rate among Japanese citizens has been steadily declining since peaking at 27.5% in 2005. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate plummeted to the 17% range in 2022 and remained at 18.9% last year (2025). This figure is significantly lower than that of major developed nations such as Canada (approximately 70%) as well as South Korea, the United States, Germany, and France (approximately 50%).

Another objective is to alleviate the burden resulting from the concurrent “departure tax hike.” To secure funds for addressing overtourism, the Japanese government plans to raise the International Tourism Passenger Tax (departure tax), currently 1,000 yen per person, to 3,000 yen starting this July. The aim is to offset the overall cost burden on domestic travelers by significantly reducing passport issuance fees in proportion to the increase in the departure tax.

The domestic tourism industry is welcoming this measure with great enthusiasm. Last year, approximately 9.46 million South Koreans visited Japan, surpassing the 9 million mark for the first time in history, while only about 3.65 million Japanese visited South Korea, resulting in a severe “tourism imbalance.”

However, if the barriers to obtaining a passport are lowered, overall demand for overseas travel among Japanese citizens is likely to increase, and the trickle-down effect is likely to extend to South Korea. South Korea is the most popular overseas destination for Japanese travelers. In fact, last year, 25% of all Japanese overseas travelers (14.73 million)—or roughly one in four—visited South Korea.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained the rationale behind the fee reduction, stating, “It is necessary to lower the barriers to obtaining passports to expand overseas experiences for the younger generation and foster international talent.”