Press Releases

Statistics for the Number of Visas Issued in 2012

May 13, 2013
Japanese
  1. 1,986,539 visas were issued at the diplomatic missions of Japan abroad for the year 2012, an increase of 46.5% from 2011(*1, *2).
  2. Main points of the statistics are following.
    (1) The total number of visas issued in 2012 increased by nearly 50% from 2011 when the number of visas issued dropped in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accidents and exceeded the total number of visas issued in 2010.
    (2) The ratio of visas issued to new visitors increased because of the increase of visitors from the East Asian countries.
    (3) The number of visas issued to Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipinos accounts for around 80 % of the total number of visas issued.
    (4) Although the number of Chinese visitors increased considerably in the first half of 2012 along with the recovery trend of foreign tourists after the Great East Japan Earthquake, it declined again in the latter half of 2012.
  3. The number of visas issued by nationality and region is as follows (in descending order): China (1,112,407), Thailand (228,528), Malaysia (115,348), Indonesia (90,498), the Philippines (74,424), India (50,938), Russia (45,468), Vietnam (39,581), Brazil (35,049), ROK (22,964). The number of visas issued in these ten countries accounts for over 90% of the total number of visas issued.
  4. The number of visas issued by diplomatic missions of Japan abroad is as follows (in descending order of the number of visas issued): Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai (435,103), Embassy of Japan in China (290,789), Embassy of Japan in Thailand (221,748), Consulate-General of Japan in Guangzhou (149,909), Consulate-General of Japan in Shenyang (78,569), Embassy of Japan in Malaysia (74,442), Embassy of Japan in Indonesia (68,257), Embassy of Japan in the Philippines (66,465), Consulate General of Japan at Qingdao (54,849),Consular Office of Japan in Dalian (45,963). The number of visas issued in these ten diplomatic missions of Japan accounts for around three-quarters of the total number of visas issued. Among the ten missions, six were in China.

    5. *1. 61 countries and regions have Visa Exemption Arrangements with Japan as of April 1, 2012.

    *2. The number of visa issued differs from the number of foreign nationals entering Japan which is released by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice.

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(* The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.)
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