Japan’s National Cabinet has approved raising visa fees from 3,000 yen ($18) to 15,000 yen ($93) for a single-entry visa, an increase of OVER 400%.
Japan Visa Fee Hike: Cabinet Approves 400% Increase, Single-Entry Cost Rises from ÂĄ3,000 ($18) to ÂĄ15,000 ($93) Japan’s National Cabinet has approved an increase in visa fees from 3,000 yen ($18) to 15,000 yen ($93) for a single-entry visa, an increase of OVER 400%. This change will take effect on 1st July 2026 and will cause ripples across the global travel industry. Here are the details of the increase and your options if you wish to travel to Japan in the next few years. How Much Will You Pay? Effective immediately (1st July 2026), Japan’s new visa prices apply to ALL nationals applying for Japanese visas. Below is a breakdown of the visa types and their respective prices before and after the increase: Single Entry: 3,000 yen (~$18) to 15,000 yen (~$93) Multiple Entry: 6,000 yen (~$37) to 30,000 yen (~$186) Essentially, this is a 500% increase for both the single and multiple entry visas. If you submit your visa application before 1st July, then you will only pay the old fees. This isn’t the only thing that announces an increase in Japan’s visa fees; it’s also about timing. For 43 years, from 1978 to 2021, there were no changes to Japan’s visa fee schedule. For context, this corresponds to the same year when the eventual co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, was still directing for TV and long before Japan was a bucket list destination. Finally, after nearly 50 years of inflation (and a much weaker yen), the total cost of getting into Japan is reflecting several factors, such as inflation, exchange rate changes, and rising costs associated with visiting Japan. Toshimitsu Motegi (the Foreign Minister for the Government of Japan) confirmed the updated fee structure at a press conference, explaining that it was past due; therefore, it was not intended as a punishment. Additionally, he stated that the increase will reflect both the inflationary increases in the exchange rates during the last 43 years as well as the government does not expect the new fee increases to negatively impact inbound tourism business in the short term. The panic surrounding higher fees charged by Japan to travelers is overshadowing the larger story: most travelers from Western countries will not be impacted at all. Japan is preparing to sharply raise visa fees in its largest increase in almost half a century, with the new rates to take effect from Wednesday (July 1, 2026), to cover rising immigration system costs as the number of tourists and foreign nationals entering the country continues… pic.twitter.com/Gf3gDAI5w8 — Thenationthailand (@Thenationth) June 23, 2026 The new fee increase will only affect those not already eligible to receive a visa waiver from Japan. Citizens from many countries, including those in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, EU member nations, South Korea, and Singapore, are all eligible to receive a 90-day visa waiver for tourism purposes and as such will not be subjected to the new fee increases unless they stay for longer than 90 days, or travel for a non-tourist reason (e.g., business or education). There are many countries left out of the visa waiver program including Russia and a good portion of the Middle East and Africa. However, the most important destination to Japan’s tourism economy that isn’t eligible for the program is China. China has been consistently one of Japan’s highest sources of inbound visitors over the years, so this single decision will affect a large portion of the tourism market while many of the “Japan travelers” on Instagram are totally untouched. India has been impacted too, though it’s a market that Japan has been courting aggressively. The Indian travel press has been monitoring this change closely, indicating that, the new prices mean that Indian travellers and other visa-required nations will need to consider the new prices in their travel budgets, but the overall attractiveness of Japan — cherry blossoms, bullet trains, food, mix of ancient temples and neon cities — still draws people there. The final source country affected by the increase is Vietnam. The new structure covers a total of more than one hundred different countries. Why Now? The Real Story Behind the Increase in Visa Charges This is about catching up to inflation, but there’s also been a second-side storyline that nearly every travel writer discusses – Japan is facing a reckoning regarding overtourism. Japan experienced a record-breaking number of foreign tourists in 2025, with over 42.6 million visiting that year alone – a truly astonishing statistic considering the size and scope of Japan’s population and infrastructure. The strong yen made it very economical to visit Japan as a foreign tourist, and foreign tourists took advantage of this fact. Gion in Kyoto had previously been able to remain predominantly traditional but felt like a theme park with many foreigners instead of the locals traditionally associated with the area. The subway system experienced tremendous crush loads due to large amounts of tourists visiting Tokyo and taking lots of photographs of long bus lines in Shibuya and Asakusa that gained notoriety via social media during the summer months. Areas around Mount Fuji, Hokkaido’s ski resorts, and many cities throughout Japan began to complain about things such as excessive road usage, no available garbage collection, and inadequate public transportation systems designed to accommodate large numbers of visitors. As a result, Japan has begun utilizing every available resource to deal with these issues. The fee increase for obtaining tourist visas to Japan is only one small part of this large effort to make necessary changes in the travel industry in Japan by the end of 2026. The latest increase in the farewell tax, commonly known as the “sayonara tax,” saw its price tripled for leaving the country – from Y1,000 to Y3,000 on July 1st, 2021. This charge applies to everyone, including Japanese citizens and people with short-term, long-term, working, or otherwise non-regular visas. Kyoto also saw an increase in hotel tax, which went vertical on March 1st, 2026, when it endorsed a
