PASSPORT INDEX
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Passport

Japan: passport 2026 and visa-free countries

Passport: Japan. 188 countries and territories without a prior visa, rank 3 of 199. Entry terms and length of stay for every destination as of 4 October 2026.

Destinations by entry terms, 226 in total

  • 138Visa-free
  • 16ETA
  • 34On arrival
  • 24eVisa
  • 14Visa required
Passport · ПаспортBRIDGES INDEX
Japan
Rank3
No prior visa188
CodeJPN

Passport strength

One of the strongest passports in the world 3

Rank 3 of 199. 188 of 226 destinations without a prior visa. Key countries this passport opens without a visa: 21.

Schengen AreaVisa-free90 daysUnited KingdomETA180 daysUnited StatesETA90 daysCanadaETA180 daysAustraliaETA90 daysNew ZealandETA90 daysSouth KoreaETA90 daysChinaVisa-free30 daysSingaporeVisa-free30 daysUnited Arab EmiratesVisa-free90 daysTürkiyeVisa-free90 daysThailandVisa-free60 daysIndiaOn arrival30 daysBrazilVisa-free90 daysMexicoVisa-free180 daysIsraelETA90 daysHong KongVisa-free90 daysSouth AfricaVisa-free90 daysIndonesiaOn arrival30 daysArgentinaVisa-free90 daysEgyptOn arrival30 days

Weak spots

Where a visa is needed and what is weaker 38

A prior visa is needed for 38 destinations, electronic or consular. Below are the main ones and the criteria where the passport is weaker. A second passport closes these gaps.

CubaeVisaAfghanistaneVisaAlgeriaVisa requiredBenineVisaBhutaneVisaBurkina FasoeVisaCamerooneVisaCentral African RepublicVisa required
Taxes4/100up to 56.0%, inheritance tax, worldwide income taxed
Plan B and family0/100dual citizenship not allowed, passes to children
What a second passport opens →

What the passport gives

What a Japan passport gives

71of 100
rank 44 of 199

Balanced index: all criteria weighted equally. Open sources, licences and method on the index page.

Ranking for your goal →
  • Mobility97188 destinations without a prior visa
  • Stability and rule of law95score 1.57 on a -2.5 to 2.5 scale
  • Quality of life92HDI 0.925
  • Health and longevity9584.7 years life expectancy
  • Education85education index 0.85
  • Taxes4up to 56.0%, inheritance tax, worldwide income taxed
  • US access100E-2 investor visa available, entry with ESTA
  • Plan B and family0dual citizenship not allowed, passes to children

All destinations

Destinations by entry terms 226

The score adds up the first three types: destinations you can travel to without a visa arranged in advance.

Visa-free 138

Entry on your passport

Popular:FranceItalySpainGermanyGreecePortugal
AlbaniaEurope · 90 daysAndorraEurope · 90 daysAngolaAfrica · 30 daysAnguillaCaribbean · 90 daysAntigua and BarbudaCaribbean · 180 daysArgentinaAmericas · 90 daysArmeniaMiddle East · 180 daysArubaCaribbean · 30 daysAustriaEurope · 90 daysBahamasCaribbean · 90 daysBarbadosCaribbean · 180 daysBelarusEurope · 30 daysBelgiumEurope · 90 daysBelizeAmericas · 90 daysBermudaAmericas · 180 daysBoliviaAmericas · 90 daysBonaire, St. Eustatius and SabaCaribbean · 90 daysBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope · 90 daysBotswanaAfrica · 90 daysBrazilAmericas · 90 daysBritish Virgin IslandsCaribbean · 30 daysBruneiAsia · 30 daysBulgariaEurope · 90 daysCayman IslandsCaribbean · 180 daysChileAmericas · 90 daysChinaAsia · 30 daysColombiaAmericas · 90 daysCook IslandsOceania · 31 daysCosta RicaAmericas · 180 daysCroatiaEurope · 90 daysCuraçaoCaribbean · 90 daysCyprusEurope · 90 daysCzechiaEurope · 90 daysDenmarkEurope · 90 daysDominicaCaribbean · 180 daysDominican RepublicCaribbean · 90 daysEcuadorAmericas · 90 daysEl SalvadorAmericas · 90 daysEstoniaEurope · 90 daysEswatiniAfrica · 30 daysFalkland IslandsAmericasFaroe IslandsEuropeFijiOceania · 120 daysFinlandEurope · 90 daysFranceEurope · 90 daysFrench GuianaAmericas · 90 daysFrench PolynesiaOceania · 90 daysFrench West IndiesCaribbean · 90 daysGeorgiaEurope · 365 daysGermanyEurope · 90 daysGibraltarEurope · 180 daysGreeceEurope · 90 daysGreenlandEuropeGrenadaCaribbean · 90 daysGuamOceania · 45 daysGuatemalaAmericas · 90 daysGuyanaAmericas · 90 daysHaitiCaribbean · 90 daysHondurasAmericas · 90 daysHong KongAsia · 90 daysHungaryEurope · 90 daysIcelandEurope · 90 daysIranMiddle East · 15 daysIrelandEurope · 90 daysItalyEurope · 90 daysJamaicaCaribbean · 30 daysKazakhstanAsia · 30 daysKiribatiOceania · 90 daysKosovoEurope · 90 daysKyrgyzstanAsia · 30 daysLaosAsia · 30 daysLatviaEurope · 90 daysLesothoAfrica · 90 daysLiechtensteinEurope · 90 daysLithuaniaEurope · 90 daysLuxembourgEurope · 90 daysMacaoAsia · 90 daysMalaysiaAsia · 90 daysMaltaEurope · 90 daysMauritiusAfrica · 90 daysMayotteAfrica · 90 daysMexicoAmericas · 180 daysMicronesiaOceania · 30 daysMoldovaEurope · 90 daysMonacoEurope · 90 daysMongoliaAsia · 30 daysMontenegroEurope · 90 daysMontserratCaribbean · 180 daysMoroccoAfrica · 90 daysNetherlandsEurope · 90 daysNew CaledoniaOceania · 90 daysNicaraguaAmericas · 90 daysNiueOceania · 30 daysNorth MacedoniaEurope · 90 daysNorthern Mariana IslandsOceania · 45 daysNorwayEurope · 90 daysOmanMiddle East · 14 daysPanamaAmericas · 90 daysParaguayAmericas · 90 daysPeruAmericas · 90 daysPhilippinesAsia · 30 daysPolandEurope · 90 daysPortugalEurope · 90 daysQatarMiddle East · 30 daysRéunionAfrica · 90 daysRomaniaEurope · 90 daysSan MarinoEurope · 90 daysSão Tomé and PríncipeAfrica · 15 daysSenegalAfrica · 90 daysSerbiaEurope · 90 daysSingaporeAsia · 30 daysSint MaartenCaribbean · 90 daysSlovakiaEurope · 90 daysSloveniaEurope · 90 daysSouth AfricaAfrica · 90 daysSpainEurope · 90 daysSt. HelenaAfricaSt. LuciaCaribbean · 42 daysSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesCaribbean · 90 daysSurinameAmericas · 90 daysSwedenEurope · 90 daysSwitzerlandEurope · 90 daysTaiwanAsia · 90 daysTajikistanAsia · 30 daysThailandAsia · 60 daysTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean · 90 daysTunisiaAfrica · 90 daysTürkiyeEurope · 90 daysTurks and Caicos IslandsCaribbean · 90 daysUkraineEurope · 90 daysUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East · 90 daysUruguayAmericas · 90 daysUzbekistanAsia · 30 daysVanuatuOceania · 120 daysVatican CityEurope · 90 daysVenezuelaAmericas · 90 daysVietnamAsia · 45 daysZambiaAfrica · 30 days

ETA 16

Electronic authorisation online

Popular:United KingdomUnited StatesSouth KoreaIsraelSri LankaAustralia
American SamoaOceaniaAustraliaOceania · 90 daysCanadaAmericas · 180 daysIsraelMiddle East · 90 daysKenyaAfrica · 90 daysMozambiqueAfrica · 30 daysNew ZealandOceania · 90 daysPalestineMiddle EastPuerto RicoCaribbean · 90 daysSeychellesAfrica · 90 daysSouth KoreaAsia · 90 daysSri LankaAsia · 30 daysSt. Kitts and NevisCaribbean · 90 daysUnited KingdomEurope · 180 daysUnited StatesAmericas · 90 daysUS Virgin IslandsCaribbean · 90 days

On arrival 34

Visa issued at the border

Popular:EgyptIndonesiaMaldivesIndiaSaudi ArabiaTanzania
AzerbaijanEurope · 30 daysBahrainMiddle East · 14 daysBangladeshAsia · 30 daysBurundiAfrica · 30 daysCambodiaAsia · 30 daysCape VerdeAfrica · 30 daysComorosAfrica · 45 daysDjiboutiAfrica · 90 daysEgyptAfrica · 30 daysEthiopiaAfrica · 90 daysGuinea-BissauAfrica · 90 daysIndiaAsia · 30 daysIndonesiaAsia · 30 daysJordanMiddle East · 30 daysKuwaitMiddle East · 90 daysLebanonMiddle East · 30 daysMadagascarAfrica · 90 daysMalawiAfrica · 30 daysMaldivesAsia · 30 daysMarshall IslandsOceania · 90 daysMyanmarAsia · 28 daysNamibiaAfrica · 90 daysNepalAsia · 90 daysPalauOceania · 30 daysRwandaAfrica · 30 daysSamoaOceania · 90 daysSaudi ArabiaMiddle East · 90 daysSierra LeoneAfrica · 90 daysSolomon IslandsOceania · 90 daysTanzaniaAfrica · 90 daysTimor-LesteAsia · 30 daysTongaOceania · 31 daysTuvaluOceania · 30 daysZimbabweAfrica · 30 days

eVisa 24

Applied for online before travel

Popular:Cuba
AfghanistanAsiaBeninAfricaBhutanAsiaBurkina FasoAfricaCameroonAfricaChadAfricaCôte d'IvoireAfricaCubaCaribbeanDR CongoAfricaEquatorial GuineaAfricaGabonAfricaGuineaAfricaIraqMiddle EastLibyaAfricaMauritaniaAfricaNigeriaAfricaPakistanAsiaPapua New GuineaOceaniaRussiaEuropeSomaliaAfricaSouth SudanAfricaSyriaMiddle EastTogoAfricaUgandaAfrica

Visa required 14

Through a consulate

AlgeriaAfricaCentral African RepublicAfricaEritreaAfricaGambiaAfricaGhanaAfricaLiberiaAfricaMaliAfricaNauruOceaniaNigerAfricaNorth KoreaAsiaRepublic of the CongoAfricaSudanAfricaTurkmenistanAsiaYemenMiddle East

How to strengthen the passport

A second citizenship opens the countries where this passport needs a visa. We count the better of the two passports.

Nearby in the ranking

  1. 1Singapore193
  2. 2United Arab Emirates189
  3. 3Japan188
  4. 4South Korea187
  5. 5Sweden186
  6. 6Germany185
  7. 6Luxembourg185

Frequently asked questions

Japan: how many countries are visa-free?

In the BRIDGES index as of 4 October 2026: 188 of 226 countries and territories, 138 visa-free, 16 with an ETA and 34 with a visa on arrival. That is rank 3 of 199.

Japan: is a Schengen visa needed?

No. Short trips to Schengen countries need no visa, up to 90 days. Once ETIAS starts, an electronic authorisation will be needed; no launch date has been announced yet.

Japan → United Kingdom: is a visa needed?

ETA, 180 days. Electronic authorisation online.

Japan → United States: is a visa needed?

ETA, 90 days. Electronic authorisation online.

Japan → United Arab Emirates: is a visa needed?

Visa-free, 90 days. Entry on your passport.

How can the list of countries be expanded?

A second citizenship. For example, a passport of Guinea-Bissau adds 12 destinations without a prior visa, Sierra Leone adds 12. We will match a programme to your travel and budget.