2026.8.6
New Passport🌎
I renewed my passport for the first time in almost ten years 😊
It happened to be around the time when passport issuance fees were significantly reduced, and it seems that many people also renewed their passports or applied for new ones at around the same time.
That said, only about 20% of Japanese people hold a passport, which is quite low compared with other developed countries.
One reason may be that the role of a passport differs from country to country.
In some countries, people frequently travel to neighboring countries, and passports may also be commonly used as a form of identification in everyday life.
In Japan, however, we have driver’s licenses and My Number card, so unless someone plans to travel abroad, there may be little motivationto obtain a passport.
At the same time, the Japanese passport is one of the most powerful in the world ✨ It gives us access to a remarkably large number of countries, and I feel very fortunate to have it.
And yet, I sometimes wonder whether Japanese people have become less interested in traveling abroad than they used to be...
With those thoughts in mind, I wrote a blog post about where this passport might take me next ✨ I also mention a very interesting book related to the topic 📕