Japan is raising visa fees by up to 400% for the first time since 1978. Here is the reason
TOPSHOT – People take pictures with Mount Fuji at Lake Yamanakako in Yamanakako, Yamanashi Prefecture on December 5, 2025. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images)
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Travelers who need a visa to enter Japan will pay five times as much from July 1, after Tokyo raised visa fees for the first time since 1978, citing rising costs and exchange rate fluctuations amid tourism booms.
The application fee for a single-entry visa will rise to 15,000 Japanese yen ($93) from 3,000 yen, while multiple-entry visas will cost 30,000 yen, up from 6,000 yen.
Japan said visa fees are now being increased “in response to current inflation and exchange rate fluctuations.”
The Japanese yen has soared to near ten-year lows in recent months, despite government intervention aimed at supporting the currency.
Experts told CNBC that the increase comes as Japan experiences an increase in tourism that has put a huge strain on infrastructure and public services.
“Given the long-term decline of the Japanese yen in recent years, the maintenance of payment structures under different economic conditions may no longer be financially sustainable,” said Zilmiyah Kamble, senior lecturer in hospitality and tourism management at James Cook University.
Kamble said that this increase in wages is unlikely to be directly aimed at curbing excessive tourism.
“While an increase in visa fees is unlikely to be a way to control over-tourism, it may have a small impact on reducing some of the administrative and operational costs associated with managing the growing number of visitors,” he added.
Japan welcomed record numbers of tourists in 2024 and 2025, with arrivals reaching 36.8 million and 42.6 million, respectively. The tourism sector has become a major contributor to the country’s GDP, according to Mastercard.
FUJIYOSHIDA, JAPAN – APRIL 08: Tourists take pictures in front of cherry blossom trees while Mount Fuji is visible in the background at Arakurayama Sengen Park on April 08, 2026 in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. During the cherry blossom season, Fujiyoshida City canceled its annual festival at Arakurayama Sengen Park this year due to tourism affecting the area’s habitat while neighboring Fujikawaguchiko City continued to hold its festival. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)
Tomohiro Ohsumi Getty Images News | Getty Images
The increase in visa fees is unlikely to affect tourism in the country, said Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
The move is accompanied by an increase in the travel tax for all travelers to 3,000 yen from the current 1,000 yen. The change reflects an increase in the share of foreign tourists in the middle of departures from Japan, according to Yuki Masujima, chief economist and partner at Deloitte Tohmatsu Group.
Foreign travelers now account for 74% of departures from Japan, compared with 20% to 30% before the implementation of “Abenomics” in 2013, Masujima said, referring to the economic program under late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that weakened the yen and boosted inbound tourism.
Since tourists are eligible for sales tax refunds, Japan needs to pay some of the associated costs, which can be partially offset by higher visa fees and travel taxes, he added.
But despite the tax hike, Masujima said they are unlikely to deter tourists, noting that many tourists are returning travelers, underscoring Japan’s enduring appeal as a destination.
Tourists check their phones outside a duty-free shop in Tokyo on June 23, 2026.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images
Political dimension
In the Japan Brand Survey 2025 conducted by Dentsu, 52.7% of 12,400 respondents said they want to visit Japan again, ranking the country first among the 20 markets polled.
“In addition to the effect of the weak yen, the appeal of Japanese food and products is increasing tourism, suggesting that Japan’s popularity as a tourist destination is not just a passing fad,” the firm found.
Masujima said the robust demand for tourism gives policymakers a lot of room to increase revenue without risking a drop in tourist numbers.
There may also be a domestic political dimension to the policy, according to Jesper Koll, managing director at Tokyo-based financial services firm Monex Group.
“After the clear ‘open door’ policy of skilled immigrants adopted by Abe, his chosen successor. [Prime Minister Sanae] Takaichi is responding to the growing concerns of over-tourism and immigration,” Koll told CNBC.
In May, Japan’s Upper House passed a law raising the upper limit for permanent residence applications to 300,000 yen from the current 10,000 yen. The upper limit of expenses for changing residence status will also increase to 100,000 yen from 10,000 yen.
The reasons for raising these fees are twofold, Koll explained: to cover the growing administrative costs of effectively managing immigration and to attract high-quality people.
