Visa-Free Countries for Japanese citizens (2026)
A Japanese passport enters 116 countries visa-free, gets a visa on arrival in 35 more, and an eTA in 10 — 161 of 198 destinations you can reach without arranging a visa before you go. That ranks the Japanese passport 3 of 199 worldwide. 23 need an e-visa applied for online, and 14 need a consular visa. As of 20 July 2026.
- 116
- VISA-FREE
- 10
- ETA
- 35
- VISA ON ARRIVAL
- 23
- E-VISA
- 14
- VISA REQUIRED
#3of 199 passports by no-prior-visa access — see the full ranking →
Counts are for a standard tourist passport, from our open visa-matrix dataset, which cross-checks Wikipedia against a second source and records every disagreement rather than picking one silently. This is a starting point, not legal advice — a rule can change between snapshots, so confirm the current requirement with the destination's official source before you book. Rows marked ⚑ disputed are corridors where our two sources disagree; treat those as "verify first".
Visa-free 116
Walk up to the border with just your passport. No form, no fee, no advance step.
- Albania90d
- Andorra90d
- Angola30d
- Antigua and Barbuda180d
- Argentina90d
- Armenia180d
- Austria90d
- Bahamas90d
- Barbados180d
- Belarus10d
- Belgium90d
- Belize90d
- Bolivia90d
- Bosnia and Herzegovina90d
- Botswana90d
- Brazil90d
- Brunei30d
- Bulgaria90d
- Chile90d
- China30d
- Colombia90d
- Costa Rica180d
- Croatia90d
- Cyprus90d
- Czechia90d
- Denmark90d
- Dominica180d
- Dominican Republic90d
- Ecuador90d
- El Salvador90d
- Estonia90d
- Eswatini30d
- Fiji120d
- Finland90d
- France90d
- Georgia365d
- Germany90d
- Greece90d
- Grenada90d
- Guatemala90d
- Guyana90d
- Haiti90d
- Honduras90d
- Hong Kong90d
- Hungary90d
- Iceland90d
- Iran14d
- Ireland90d
- Italy90d
- Jamaica30d
- Kazakhstan30d
- Kiribati90d
- Kosovo90d
- Kyrgyzstan30d
- Laos30d
- Latvia90d
- Lesotho90d
- Liechtenstein90d
- Lithuania90d
- Luxembourg90d
- Macao90d
- Macedonia90d
- Malaysia90d
- Malta90d
- Mauritius90d
- Mexico180d
- Micronesia30d
- Moldova90d
- Monaco90d
- Mongolia30d
- Montenegro90d
- Morocco90d
- Netherlands90d
- Nicaragua90d
- Norway90d
- Oman14d⚑
- Palestine
- Panama90d
- Paraguay90d
- Peru90d
- Philippines30d
- Poland90d
- Portugal90d
- Qatar30d⚑
- Romania90d
- Saint Lucia42d
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines90d
- San Marino90d
- Sao Tome and Principe15d
- Senegal90d
- Serbia90d
- Seychelles90d
- Singapore30d
- Slovakia90d
- Slovenia90d
- South Africa90d
- Spain90d
- Suriname90d
- Sweden90d
- Switzerland90d
- Taiwan90d
- Tajikistan30d
- Thailand60d
- Trinidad and Tobago90d
- Tunisia90d
- Turkey90d
- Ukraine90d
- United Arab Emirates90d
- United States90d
- Uruguay90d
- Uzbekistan30d
- Vanuatu120d
- Vatican90d
- Venezuela90d
- Vietnam45d
- Zambia30d
Electronic authorisation (eTA) 10
Visa-free in practice, but you must register an eTA online before you fly. Minutes, not weeks.
- Australia
- Canada180d
- Israel90d
- Kenya90d
- Mozambique30d
- New Zealand
- Saint Kitts and Nevis90d
- South Korea90d
- Sri Lanka30d⚑
- United Kingdom180d
Visa on arrival 35
Nothing to arrange in advance — the visa is issued at the border, usually for a fee.
- Azerbaijan30d
- Bahrain14d
- Bangladesh30d
- Burma28d
- Burundi30d
- Cabo Verde30d
- Cambodia30d
- Comoros45d
- Djibouti90d
- East Timor30d
- Egypt30d
- Ethiopia90d
- Guinea-Bissau90d
- India30d
- Indonesia30d
- Jordan30d
- Kuwait90d
- Lebanon30d
- Madagascar90d
- Malawi30d
- Maldives30d
- Marshall Islands90d
- Namibia90d
- Nepal90d
- Palau30d
- Papua New Guinea60d⚑
- Rwanda30d
- Samoa
- Saudi Arabia90d
- Sierra Leone30d
- Solomon Islands
- Tanzania90d
- Tonga31d
- Tuvalu30d
- Zimbabwe30d
E-visa (apply online first) 23
You must apply and be approved online before departure. Not a border formality.
- Afghanistan30d⚑
- Benin30d
- Bhutan90d
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Cuba90d
- DR Congo7d
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon90d
- Guinea90d
- Iraq30d
- Ivory Coast90d⚑
- Libya
- Mauritania30d
- Nigeria30d
- Pakistan90d
- Russia30d
- Somalia30d
- South Sudan
- Syria
- Togo15d
- Uganda90d
Visa required 14
A consular visa is needed before travel — start early.
- Algeria
- Central African Republic
- Congo
- Eritrea
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Liberia
- Mali
- Nauru
- Niger
- North Korea
- Sudan
- Turkmenistan
- Yemen
People also ask
How many countries can Japanese citizens visit visa-free?
116 destinations, with no form and no fee — you arrive and the passport is stamped at the border. Add the 35 that issue a visa on arrival and the 10 that need only an eTA registered online, and 161 of 198 destinations need no visa arranged before you fly. As of 20 July 2026.
How strong is the Japanese passport?
It ranks 3 of 199 passports by no-prior-visa access, reaching 161 of 198 destinations without arranging a visa first. That figure counts visa-free and freedom-of-movement entry plus eTA and visa on arrival. As of 20 July 2026.
Which countries require a visa for Japanese citizens?
14 destinations need a consular visa applied for before travel, and 23 more need an e-visa approved online first. Both groups are listed in full above. The dataset records the requirement itself, not the fee or the processing time — confirm those with the destination's own authority. As of 20 July 2026.
What is the difference between an eTA and an e-visa for Japanese citizens?
An eTA is a registration; an e-visa is an application. A Japanese passport needs an eTA for 10 destinations — minutes online, then you fly — and a full e-visa for 23, which must be approved before departure. Neither one is issued at the border, so both have to be done before you travel.
How current is this visa-free list for Japanese citizens?
It is a dated snapshot, checked 20 July 2026, built by cross-checking two sources and recording every disagreement rather than picking one silently. 6 of this passport's 198 corridors are marked disputed. Entry rules change between snapshots, so confirm with the destination's official source before booking.