Japan Raises Visa Fees for the First Time Since 1978

Japan's government announced on June 23 that it will raise the cost of visitor visas starting July 1, 2026. A single-entry visa — which lets you visit Japan once — will jump from ¥3,000 to ¥15,000. A multiple-entry visa, used by people who travel to Japan repeatedly, will double from ¥6,000 to ¥30,000.

This is the first time Japan has changed these fees in 48 years. The last adjustment happened in 1978, before most of today's technology existed and when far fewer people traveled internationally.

Why Japan is raising the prices now

The basic reason is cost. Running visa offices — staffing them, keeping systems secure, processing thousands of applications — has become much more expensive over nearly five decades. A modern visa office looks nothing like one in 1978.

Japan also wants its fees to match what other wealthy countries charge. The European Union charges about €90 (roughly ¥14,400) for a short-stay tourist visa. The new ¥15,000 Japanese fee is now in the same ballpark.

Who this affects

The fee increase only applies to people who need a visa to enter Japan. Citizens of the United States, most European countries, Australia, South Korea, and several others can enter Japan without a visa, so these price increases don't touch them.

The people paying more are visitors from many parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. For a business traveler on an expense account, an extra ¥12,000 is manageable. But for a student visiting family, or someone moving to Japan for work on modest wages, the jump is noticeable.

Japan has been making it easier for some countries to visit without visas, so over time fewer people may need to buy visas. But that takes time. For now, the higher fees apply immediately to anyone who doesn't already have visa-free access.

The business travel impact

The multiple-entry visa matters most to journalists, business people, and others who travel to Japan regularly. Large companies usually absorb these costs as part of doing business, but smaller firms and nonprofit organizations feel the sting more directly.

The timing problem

Japan's consulates and visa processing centers have roughly a week between the announcement and July 1 to update their fee systems, payment websites, and instructions to applicants. That's tight. The real question is how applications already in the pipeline — people who applied before July 1 but haven't paid yet — will be handled. This could become messy if the cutoff isn't clear.

What Japan didn't do

Japan did not announce any special provisions like reciprocal fee-matching (charging Japanese nationals the same amount that other countries charge Japanese visitors) or hardship exceptions. Some countries, including the UK, tie their visa fees to what other countries charge them — basically, "if you charge us ¥15,000, we charge you ¥15,000." Japan's announcement doesn't mention this.

This tells us the decision was driven by cost recovery — making applicants cover what the visa system costs to run — rather than by diplomatic leverage or trying to influence other countries' policies.