Japanese passport applications rise sharply after fees are reduced
Japan logged about 530,000 passport applications in July, while the first three days recorded around 3.3 times the number seen in the same period last year.
- Following a reduction in passport fees, applications in the first three days of July were 3.3 times higher than the same period a year earlier.
- The fee for an online 10-year passport application for adults was significantly cut from 15,900 yen to 8,900 yen.
- Across the entire month of July, Japan received approximately 530,000 applications, which is about 1.6 times the number from the previous year.
A Foreign Ministry official put the number of passport applications received during the first three days of July at about 3.3 times the tally for the corresponding period a year earlier.
Jiji Press learnt on Thursday (August 13) that approximately 530,000 applications had been submitted across Japan in July, about 1.6 times the figure recorded a year earlier.
The increase followed a reduction in passport fees introduced at the beginning of the month.
Under the rates introduced on July 1, the fee for an online application for a 10-year passport by Japanese nationals aged 18 or older is 8,900 yen, down from 15,900 yen.
The online fee for a child’s five-year passport has been cut from 10,900 yen to 4,400 yen.
The ministry now expects passport issuance to take about three weeks.
Its initial estimate was around one month because it anticipated an increase in applications.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
