The government will enact the amended Passport Act on July 1.
Under the revised Passport Act, passport application fees will be revised, with a 7,000-yen reduction for 10-year passports. The fee for in-person applications will be lowered from 16,300 yen to 9,300 yen, and the fee for online applications will be lowered from 15,900 yen to 8,900 yen.
In addition, the five-year passport for those aged 18 and older will be abolished, and the program will be limited to those under 18; the application fee will be standardized at 4,400 yen (for both electronic applications), down from the current rates of 10,900 yen (ages 12–18) and 5,900 yen (under 12).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs anticipates that the number of applications will increase after July 1, leading to congestion at local government passport offices. While passports are typically issued within about two weeks of application, the Ministry states that, starting July 1, both online and in-person applications will take “approximately one month to be issued.”
© Source travel watch