Press Conferences

Foreign Press Secretary KITAMURA Toshihiro: I would like to make two announcements at the outset. The first concerns “Passport Day.”

Every year, February 20 is designated as “Passport Day.” This day was officially designated in 1998 to commemorate the enactment of the Overseas Passport Rules on February 20, 1878, which marked the first use of the term “passport” in Japanese legislation.

On “Passport Day” every year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) publishes passport statistics, and conducts the “period of tightened inspections against the illicit acquisition of passports through identity theft” at passport offices nationwide for approximately two weeks around this date. We will implement the initiative again this year, from February 20 to March 5.

The detailed version of the passport statistics for 2025 will be published on the MOFA website on February 20, the day after tomorrow.

Press Secretary KITAMURA: The second concerns recruitment at MOFA.

As I mentioned at the press conference last December, MOFA conducts recruitment of fixed-term positions every two months, and more than 60 such positions are currently available.

MOFA is seeking talented individuals with abundant experience and diverse backgrounds, and is actively strengthening its recruitment of mid-career professionals. We welcome applications from many interested individuals.

For details, please refer to the information on the MOFA website.