JAPANESE PASSPORT

In January 2020, the British consulting firm Henley & Partners placed the Japanese passport at the top of its Passport Index Global Ranking.

The index ranks passports based on how many of 199 countries and regions worldwide their holders can visit without a prior visa. Japanese passport holders can enter 191 countries without a visa. Singapore ranked second with 190 countries, followed by South Korea and Germany with 189.

In 2019, Japan and Singapore shared first place. However, in June 2019, Japanese passport holders no longer required a visa for Brazil, leaving Japan as the sole leader. The weakest passport was the Afghan passport, which granted visa-free access to only 26 countries.

RANKING OF PASSPORTS WITH THE HIGHEST VISA-FREE ACCESS
Number of countries passport
191 Japan
190 Singapore
189 Germany, South Korea
188 Finland, Italy
187 Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg
186 France, Sweden
185 Austria, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland
184 USA, Great Britain, Belgium, Greece, Norway
PASSPORTS WITH THE LEAST VISA-FREE ACCESS
29 Syria
28 Iraq
26 Afghanistan
Although Japan fell behind China in 2010 to become the world's third-largest economy, it remains a major power, and countries hope that Japanese tourist spending will boost their own economies. Japan's stable society and low crime rate mean that visitors are considered highly unlikely to overstay, work illegally, or seek asylum.

So how often do Japanese people travel the world with their powerful passports? At the end of 2018, there were nearly 30 million valid passports, or just one for every four citizens. Many don't use them at all.