Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) has issued the “Motto Kaigai-e, Sengen(More! Overseas Declaration in English)” in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) to encourage more Japanese people to travel abroad. The Initiative was launched in accordance with start of ‘2025 Passport’ and open of Osaka Kansai Expo to boost the dull outbound travel market.
Naoya Haraikawa, JTA Commissioner, touched on the current situation in which passport ownership rates are only around 17%, saying, "If you don't have plans to travel overseas, you won't get a passport. Rather than increasing the passport acquisition rate, we will first increase the momentum for people to travel overseas.” He didn’t mention a clear goal of this initiative, but said, "First of all, we will get closer to the 20 million people before COVID-19." The number of Japanese overseas travelers in 2024 was approximately 13 million last year.
The "More! Overseas Declaration" will be carried out with five pillars: the popularization of new passports, a campaign to promote overseas travel, the promotion of international exchange among young people, the provision of information on local safety, and promotion in cooperation with related parties.
The new passports, known as the "2025 Passport," have significantly strengthened measures against counterfeiting and alteration. Online applications are now possible in all prefectures, and online applications no longer require the submission of original family register copies, which is expected to motivate people to get a passport.
（左から）JATA髙橋会長、観光庁祓川長官、外務省岩本局長、外務省旅券キャラクター「パスポくん」。
JATA member companies launch new passport acquisition campaign
In conjunction with this, JATA is working with member travel agencies, airlines, airport companies, and others to advance the "More! Overseas Declaration" project.
"Overseas tourism information can be easily accessed online, but the real, authentic value of the experience is being lost,” Hiroyuki Takahashi, JATA Chairman said. “Overseas travel, where you can actually experience the nature, history, culture, and interactions with the people of a country with your five senses and be moved by them, is an irreplaceable and valuable opportunity,”
As the first step in the project, the "New Passport Acquisition Support Campaign" will be launched, participated by 36 JATA member companies and 6 airports in the beginning. Each company will have its own campaign for new passport acquisition, such as cashback, discounts, and point allocations. According to JATA, the campaign slots are currently set for a total of 25,000 people, with a total of about 200 million yen. The average amount is about 10,000 yen per person.
In addition, from this summer until next year, travel agencies will launch campaign products, and airlines will launch discount fares. The dedicated website, which opened on March 24th, will post the latest tourism information from each tourism bureau and embassy.
