Japan: a new preclearance system for foreign travelers in 2025

To streamline immigration procedures upon arrival, Japan will introduce a preclearance system for foreign travelers in 2025.

Since reopening to international tourism after the pandemic, and due in part to the weak yen, Japan has been breaking records for international arrivals.

According to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country in May of this year reached 3.04 million. Since March 2024, this figure of 3 million foreign visitors has been consistently reached for three consecutive months, marking the highest numbers ever recorded.

To further accelerate this trend, the Japanese government will soon introduce a new system that will reduce the time required for entry procedures for foreign travelers.

This new system, called “Preclearance,” will allow foreign travelers to use the waiting period before their departure at the airport to complete most of the immigration formalities required to enter Japan in advance.

A pilot phase with travelers arriving in Japan from Taiwan

In a recent infographic, Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) explained that at departure airports located abroad, travelers heading to Japan for tourism and other purposes will be able to use the waiting time before boarding the plane to undergo preclearance (including fingerprinting and facial photograph verification).

“The system is designed to significantly reduce the waiting time at the arrival airport for landing control and to facilitate entry procedures”, says the ISA.

With this upcoming preclearance system, the arrival process will be shortened, allowing passengers to enter the country more easily than they currently do, by completing document verification, fingerprint and facial photograph collection and verification at the departure airport, which is currently done upon entry into Japan.

Upon arrival in Japan, passengers will be able to use new “common kiosks” dedicated to customs and immigration, which have been in testing since last January at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. New electronic kiosks will be available in early 2025 at Narita and Kansai international airports.

The preclearance program will initially be launched for travelers from Taiwan starting in January 2025, and the Japanese government plans to gradually expand the target countries and regions based on the results of this pilot operation.

This future procedure could be linked to the “Visit Japan Web” portal, where travelers already digitally register their immigration and customs information before arriving in Japan, aiming to facilitate entry without the need to fill out paper forms.

Electronic travel authorization in the pipeline in Japan

Alongside this new preclearance procedure, Japan is also preparing to launch an electronic travel authorization similar to the ESTA.

By 2025, visa-exempt international tourists will need to apply for an ETA to enter Japan.

Citizens of the following 71 countries and territories will need electronic travel authorization before traveling to Japan: