Japan passport fees going down to 9,000 yen in July

At a plenary session Friday, the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, passed into law a bill to cut the fees by 7,000 yen to 8,900 yen for online applicants and to 9,300 yen for over-the-counter applicants.

Under the revised passport law, which takes effect on July 1, adult Japanese nationals aged at least 18 can apply for passports valid for 10 years only, with the five-year validity abolished for them.

Meanwhile, five-year passports will continue to be available to children, at costs around 4,500 yen, down from around 11,000 yen for 12- to 17-year-olds and from around 6,000 yen for the others.