TOKYO - Japan lowered passport application fees from July 1, drawing large crowds to application counters such as the one in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, although applicants are being warned that issuance could take as long as about one month.
For adults aged 18 and over applying at a counter for a passport valid for 10 years, the fee was reduced from 16,300 yen to 9,300 yen. For online applications, the fee fell from 15,900 yen to 8,900 yen.
Following the fee cut, many people lined up at the passport application office in Shinjuku Ward even 30 minutes before opening, with about 100 people forming a queue. One person planning a trip to Singapore said, "Now that it is cheaper and easier to get a passport, it gives people a reason to travel overseas."
The National Printing Bureau, which produces passports, expects applications to rise sharply following the reduction in fees and plans to increase production capacity for the time being. Even so, officials say it may take up to about one month before passports are issued.
The fee reduction applies to adults aged 18 and over, for whom the 10-year passport is now the only option, with the cost reduced by 7,000 yen from the previous level. For applicants under 18, age categories have been unified, and the fee for a passport valid for five years is now 4,400 yen for online applications and 4,800 yen for counter applications.
While passport application fees have been lowered, Japan raised its international tourist tax, imposed on people departing the country, from 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen. Revenue from the tax will be used for measures such as addressing overtourism.
