Emergency passport issuances at Korean missions in Japan surge as tourist numbers rise

Emergency passport issuances at South Korean diplomatic missions in Japan have jumped sharply over the past five years, new data shows.

The surge is attributed to a rise in incidents involving Korean travelers in Japan, including passport theft and loss, amid a boom in tourism driven in part by the weak yen.

According to data submitted to the National Assembly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emergency passports issued at Korean missions in Japan jumped from 661 in 2022 to 2,086 in 2023, 2,415 in 2024 and 2,393 in 2025. The figures were released Friday by Lee Ki-heon, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker on the Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

This year alone, 1,638 emergency passports were issued between January and July. If the trend continues, the annual total is expected to approach 3,000.

Last year, the Embassy of Korea in Japan recorded the highest number of emergency passport issuances among all overseas missions, followed by the consulates general in Osaka, Barcelona and Los Angeles, and the embassy in Italy.

Emergency passports at overseas missions are issued primarily to travelers who have had their passports stolen or lost due to accidents or crimes abroad.

In practice, the pattern is visible in Cambodia as well, where emergency passport issuances jumped sharply around the time scam syndicates emerged as a major social problem. Issuances at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia rose from 31 in 2022 to 88 in 2023, 190 in 2024 and 186 in 2025. With crackdowns on scam operations intensifying this year, only 23 were issued between January and July.

The number of Korean tourists visiting Japan has also grown. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, about 9.46 million Korean tourists visited Japan last year, up 7.3 percent from the previous year. The upward trend continued in the first half of this year, with about 5.675 million visitors recorded between January and June.

The number of Koreans affected by accidents or crimes in Japan rose from 348 in 2022 to 1,393 in 2023, 2,348 in 2024 and 3,090 in 2025. In the first half of this year, the figure reached 1,784.

"The rise in emergency passport issuances abroad could be an early warning sign of a safety crisis for our citizens and should not be dismissed as mere statistics," Lee said. "The Foreign Ministry must closely monitor regions where issuances have surged, including Japan, and take the necessary safety measures."