Japan is raising visa fees by up to 400% for the first time in nearly 50 years. Here's why

TOPSHOT - People take photographs with Mount Fuji at Lake Yamanakako in snow in Yamanakako, Yamanashi prefecture on December 5, 2025. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP via Getty Images) Yuichi Yamazaki | Afp | Getty Images Travelers who require a visa to enter Japan will pay up to five times more from July 1 , after Tokyo raised visa fees for the first time since 1978, citing rising costs and exchange-rate fluctuations amid a tourism boom. The application fee for a single-entry visa will climb to 15,000 Japanese yen ($93) from 3,000 yen , while multiple-entry visas will cost 30,000 yen, up from 6,000 yen. Japan said visa fees are now being increased "in order to respond to the current price increases and fluctuations in exchange rates." The Japanese yen has hovered near multi-decade lows in recent months, despite government intervention aimed at supporting the currency. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Experts told CNBC that the increase comes as Japan experiences a surge in tourism that has placed considerable strain on infrastructure and public services. "Given the prolonged depreciation of the Japanese yen in recent years, maintaining fee structures set under different economic conditions may no longer be financially sustainable," said Zilmiyah Kamble, senior lecturer in hospitality and tourism management at James Cook University. Kamble said the increase was unlikely to be aimed directly at curbing overtourism. …