Japan as power! Explaining the history of passports and the secrets behind the new 2020 design

*The rankings are current as of January 7, 2020. As of March 2020, some countries have temporarily suspended visa issuance due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask for your understanding.

One in four people have a Japanese passport

In Japan, one in four people have a passport. According to statistics released every year on February 20th (Passport Day), approximately 4.5 million passports were issued in 2019, and approximately 30.3 million valid passports are in existence.

But did you know that there are actually five different types of passports? The navy blue one at the top left is for five years, and the red one is for ten years. The green one, which is rare for the general public, is an official passport, mainly used by Diet members and government officials. The brown one is a diplomatic passport, used by members of the imperial family, cabinet ministers, and foreign service officials. The navy blue one at the bottom right is an "emergency passport," which is issued immediately at a Japanese diplomatic mission overseas when there is a special reason for doing so.

"I wanted to get my passport renewed in time for the 2020 Olympics."

The people who answered the interview questions were Mr. Hideki Uezono, Chief Administrative Officer of the Passport Division of the Consular Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Miki Sato, Administrative Officer for Foreign Affairs. We asked them about the reason why the passport renewal was decided at this time.

"There are several reasons. The most important thing is that passports need to be protected against forgery, so they are regularly upgraded by introducing new security technology. The cycle is every 5 to 7 years. The last time was in 2013, and this year marks the seventh year since then, so it was time for an update," said Uezono.

2013 was the year that it was decided that Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to Uezono, he had wanted to renew passports before the Olympics. Strengthening measures against forgery at this time will also contribute to future border control measures against illegal entry.

Japan's first passport was created during the Edo period.

So how have Japanese passports evolved over the years? Uezono-san told us about some of the epoch-making events.

"The issuance of international travel documents equivalent to modern passports began in 1866 (Keio 2) at the end of the Edo period. The first person to obtain one was a man named Sumidagawa Namigoro, who led the acrobatic troupe "Imperial Japanese Troupe" to the Paris World's Fair. Photographs were not widespread at the time, so facial features and other characteristics were recorded in text. Passports at that time were shaped like award certificates, and in addition to age and height, details such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. were listed," says Uezono.

As he said this, he showed me a replica of the passport from that time.

Indeed, there are sections on facial features and other physical characteristics. The oldest surviving passport was issued to an acrobat, Kamekichi, after the first passport was issued to Sumidagawa Namigoro. The passport states the person's age as 23. The height is written as "takaki kata" (high height) rather than as a number, and the passport states that the person had small eyes and a high nose.

"After that, after the Meiji Restoration, the Overseas Passport Regulations were enacted on February 20th, 1878 (Meiji 11). Since this was the first time the word 'passport' was used in legislation, February 20th has become 'Passport Day' every year. The prototype of the modern passport was created in 1926 (Taisho 15/Showa 1). It was redesigned from a certificate-type to the modern booklet-type, and the chrysanthemum crest was added to the cover," explains Uezono.

However, in 1939, World War II broke out. Japanese people were banned from traveling abroad, and even after the war ended, they could not travel abroad without permission from GHQ. This was lifted in 1951 (Showa 26) when the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed. This also laid the foundation for today's Passport Law, but in the immediate postwar period, there was a lack of foreign currency, so few Japanese people traveled abroad.

"Overseas travel became more common in 1964, when the last Tokyo Olympics were held. Travel abroad for Japanese tourists was liberalized, and passports for tourism purposes were issued. This was also the year that the number of passports issued for the year exceeded 100,000," says Uezono.

In 1992, following a recommendation from the International Civil Aviation Organization, passports became machine-readable and the size of the booklet was made the same as it is today. Then, in 2006, IC chips were introduced.

"In terms of technological advances, (the introduction of IC chips) was a big step," says Uezono. "But the 2020 edition also attempted something never before attempted - incorporating works of art into the design."

Hokusai Katsushika's "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" was used as a security measure

The new page in the passport is the visa page. For the first time, a work of art has been used here. Hokusai Katsushika's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji is a series of 46 works, and from these, 16 works have been used in alphabetical order for the 5-year passport and 24 works for the 10-year passport.

"After the 2013 edition was released, we immediately started a project to decide on what to do with the 2020 edition. In selecting the design, we had the 'Next Passport Booklet Design Selection Preparatory Committee Members', which consisted of five people, including a well-known journalist, an emeritus professor at an art university, a former marathon runner, and an actor, discuss the design. After an internal review at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the final decision was made by then Foreign Minister Kishida, and was announced to the press in 2016," says Uezono.

Other design candidates included scenes resembling traditional Japanese landscapes, such as New Year's Day and Hinamatsuri, cranes evocative of a journey through the sky, and seasonal plants that represent the four seasons in Japan, such as cherry blossoms. What was the deciding factor in choosing "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji"?

"One is its Japaneseness. It is a representative Japanese ukiyo-e print that is widely known around the world, and the fact that it has Mount Fuji as its main motif was also a big factor. The other deciding factor was its characteristics as a work of art, such as its familiarity. So, from among the several candidates, we came to the conclusion that 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' was the most suitable," said Uezono.

Among the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, "Fine Wind, Clear Morning" is popularly known as "Red Fuji." It is not red because it is made with special ink that has been treated with anti-counterfeiting technology, but it uses the traditional Japanese "Edo purple." "Edo purple" is also the color used for the illumination of Tokyo Skytree.

Why Japan's passport is the most powerful in the world

Uezono says that the reason they used "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" is to prevent counterfeiting rather than to design it. He says that a complex work of art is more difficult to read or counterfeit than a simple design such as numbers.

In addition, passports incorporate a variety of other special technologies. They are produced by the National Printing Bureau, which also produces banknotes, and the paper used is made using the same special technology as banknotes.

Furthermore, the 2020 passport is extremely precise, with enhanced functionality to prevent unauthorized reading of personal information stored in the IC. The 2013 version was already sufficiently strong in terms of security, but perhaps this high level of reliability is what makes Japanese passports the "strongest in the world."

From here on, Mr. Sato answered the questions.

"First, let me tell you about the origins of Japan's number one status. The British consulting firm Henley & Partners regularly surveys the number of countries and regions where you can travel to without obtaining a visa in advance, and publishes the results as "passport strength." The latest results were published on January 7th, and it was reported that Japan had come in first," says Sato.

Currently, the number of countries and regions that Japanese people can travel to without a visa is 191, the most in the world. As of July 2018, Japan was tied with Singapore with 189, but visa-free travel was later granted to Myanmar as well, and since then, the Japanese passport has been ranked number one. In 2019, visa-free travel was also granted to Brazil. What is the reason that Japanese people can enter 191 countries and regions without a visa?

"Of course, I think there is trust in the high level of security of the passport. On top of that, there are few cases of illegal residence and crime committed by Japanese people overseas. I also think that there is a high expectation from the host countries that Japanese people will be welcomed in terms of business and tourism," says Sato.

The reason why the Japanese passport is the strongest seems to be due to the high level of trust that Japan enjoys. When you think about it, Japanese people are noted for cleaning up the venues after watching sporting events overseas, and for their good manners in accommodations and restaurants. In addition, the punctuality of Japan's trains, which foreigners say surprises them, may also give the impression of an honest national character. The accumulation of such trust has probably led to the creation of the "world's strongest passport," which allows visa-free travel to many countries.

*Some content was revised on July 20, 2021.