Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced a five‑fold increase in visa fees for all foreigners, a move not seen since 1978. The single‑entry fee jumps from 3,000 yen to 15,000 yen, and the multi‑entry fee from 6,000 to 30,000 yen.
The fee hikes were justified by officials as a response to ongoing inflation, a weaker yen, and a desire to bring Japan’s costs in line with other G7 economies. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi assured the public that tourists would not see an immediate decline in visitor numbers.
Japan’s tourism sector has rebounded strongly after the pandemic, welcoming a record 42.7 million international visitors in 2025. The government’s decision to tighten payment requirements comes alongside measures to raise residency‑related fees, with permanent‑resident applications now capped at 300,000 yen and other status changes up to 100,000 yen.
For Indigenous peoples—including the Ainu of Hokkaido, the Okinawan diaspora, and other minority groups—higher costs pose practical barriers to accessing cultural sites and participating in annual pilgrimages. These travelers often rely on modest budgets to visit ancestral territories or share intangible heritage with wider audiences.
Beyond economics, the fee adjustment raises questions about the inclusion of Indigenous voices in tourism policy. Many Indigenous communities lobby for a more compassionate approach that recognises their unique cultural obligations and fosters cross‑generational knowledge transfer.
While the government frames the changes as a normalisation exercise, activists warn that a steep financial threshold could erode the fragile link between Indigenous peoples and their heritage, especially in the context of global migration and the increasing number of visitors’ rights and protection of sacred places.
