News On Japan

Japanese passport is the most powerful in the world

Jul 21, 2022 (thegoaspotlight.com) - The Japanese passport confirmed its leadership in world geopolitics and was elected the most powerful in the world by the quarterly ranking of the immigration consultancy Henley Partners.

The list is based on data from IATA (International Air Transport Association) on the number of countries in which only the presentation of the document guarantees the entry of the foreign traveler, without the need for a visa. Now in its 17th year, the study assesses 199 passports and their access to 227 destinations.

In the data referring to the third quarter of 2022, the document occupies the isolated leadership, unlike in previous editions of the index, guaranteeing access for Japanese to 193 countries. In second place, tied, are Singapore and South Korea with passports that open doors in 192 nations.

1st. Japan (accepted in 193 countries)

2nd. Singapore and South Korea (192 countries)

3rd. Germany and Spain (190 countries)

4th. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 countries)

5th. Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden (188 countries)

6th. France, UK, Ireland and Portugal (187 countries)

7th Belgium, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway and the United States (186 countries)

8th. Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Australia and Canada (185 countries)

9th. Hungary (183 countries)

10th Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia (182 countries)

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A fire broke out at Arima Inari Shrine near the Arima Onsen hot spring resort area in Kobe on the night of June 9th, destroying multiple buildings and leaving an elderly Shinto priest and his wife with minor injuries.

Japan, which records the shortest average sleep duration among OECD countries, is launching new efforts to tackle widespread sleep deprivation, including the opening of specialized sleep disorder departments and programs aimed at improving children's sleep habits through sports and physical activity.

Japan's national soccer team arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 8th from Monterrey, Mexico, where it had been conducting a pre-World Cup training camp, and held its first practice session at its base camp for the FIFA World Cup in North America.

A prolonged eruption at Sakurajima on June 7th blanketed parts of Kagoshima City in volcanic ash, turning roads gray and prompting long lines of vehicles seeking car washes after a plume of smoke rose 1,300 meters above the crater.

A powerful earthquake struck off Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines at 8:38 a.m. (Japan time) on June 8th, generating tsunami waves across parts of the Pacific, causing building collapses and casualties near the epicenter, and prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue tsunami advisories along a wide stretch of Japan's Pacific coastline before lifting all of them at 4:50 p.m.

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A newly formed tropical depression near Taiwan on June 9th is expected to intensify the seasonal rain front lingering over southwestern Japan, raising the risk of warning-level rainfall across Okinawa and the Amami Islands through around June 11th.

Passengers traveling on JR East services may soon no longer need to insert paper tickets into ticket gates, as the railway operator announced plans to gradually phase out its traditional black-backed paper tickets beginning next spring.

Foreign tourists continue to climb Mount Fuji despite strict access restrictions ahead of the official climbing season, prompting local officials to renew calls for tougher penalties and requiring climbers to pay for rescue operations conducted during the mountain's closed period.

A slope collapse alongside the JR Dosan Line between Tsubojiri and Hashikura stations in Tokushima Prefecture, detected after a rockfall warning system was activated in the early hours of June 8th, has forced the suspension of train services with no timetable yet established for the restoration of operations.

Japan Airlines will once again operate seasonal flights between Chubu Centrair International Airport and the Hokkaido cities of Obihiro and Kushiro throughout August, offering travelers from hot Nagoya a chance to enjoy the region's cooler summer climate.

A prolonged eruption at Sakurajima on June 7th blanketed parts of Kagoshima City in volcanic ash, turning roads gray and prompting long lines of vehicles seeking car washes after a plume of smoke rose 1,300 meters above the crater.

A large bear was captured on security camera footage running through a shopping arcade in central Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in the early hours of June 7th, as authorities stepped up warnings following a series of bear sightings across the city.

Japan's Meteorological Agency announced on June 7th that the rainy season is believed to have begun in the Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions, marking the seasonal shift to wetter weather across a broad area of the country.