Lost Passport in Japan 2026: Police, Embassy, Flight Home

Lost Passport in Japan: The Five Steps at a Glance

Emergency passports are not rare in Japan: Korean missions in Japan alone issued 1,638 from January to July 2026, after 2,393 in 2025 and 661 in 2022 (South Korean foreign ministry data reported by JoongAng Daily, September 11, 2026). These steps apply whatever passport you hold.

For 110, 119 and the English-language visitor hotline, see our Japan emergency numbers guide.

Lost or Stolen? File the Right Police Report

Say whether the passport was lost or stolen; the paperwork differs:

• Lost (dropped, left on a train or in a taxi): a lost-property report, called *ishitsu todoke* (遺失届).
• Stolen (pickpocketed, bag snatched): a theft report, called *higai todoke* (被害届). Call 110 first if the thief is still nearby. If you do not speak Japanese, Tokyo police say an interpreter will join the call.

Give the officer a Japanese phone number and email: Tokyo police do not make international calls, so your hotel's number works as a fallback.

Write down the report number before you leave, and ask your embassy whether it needs a formal police certificate instead (Tokyo police advice).

Check Lost and Found Before Replacing It

• Where you lost it. Rail and bus companies, airlines and shops may keep items for a few days.
• Tokyo Metro keeps items at its Lost & Found Center at Iidabashi Station (Namboku Line, outside the ticket gates, 9:00 to 20:00 daily) for 3 to 4 days, then sends them to the police.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Police Lost and Found Center: 1-9-11 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, near Iidabashi Station; counter open weekdays 8:30 to 16:30, closed national holidays and December 29 to January 3. Phone 0570-550-142 (line open 8:30 to 17:15).
• Outside Tokyo, ask the local police station; the National Police Agency links to each prefecture's lost-and-found website.

Contact Your Embassy or Consulate

Only your own government can replace your passport. Find your mission in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan directory or on your foreign ministry's website. Many work by appointment (the US Embassy requires one for in-person passport applications), so contact them as soon as the police report is filed.

• Emergency passport: the US Embassy says it can usually be issued the same day, is valid for one year or less, has no chip, and costs the same as a regular passport.
• Emergency travel document: some countries issue a travel certificate instead; rules differ by nationality.

Typical documents (requirements vary by country; check your mission's page):

• The police report or report number
• Passport photos in the size your country requires
• A copy of the lost passport's photo page or other ID, if you have one
• Your flight itinerary
• The fee (differs by country)

Some countries may not accept an emergency passport (US Embassy warning), so check every country on your route home.

Before Your Flight, and How to Avoid It Next Time

Japan's immigration record. Your landing permission seal was in the lost passport. The Immigration Services Agency says that if you want a valid landing permission (or certain other permissions) transferred to the new passport, you submit a transfer request form at the regional immigration bureau covering your address in Japan, with a loss certificate if you have one. It does not say whether short-term visitors must do this before flying, so ask your embassy or the bureau.

Stay reachable. A Japan data eSIM keeps email and messaging apps working for the embassy, police and airline, but data-only plans usually have no Japanese phone number, so give the police your hotel's number too.

Prevention that works in Japan

• Tokyo police say all foreigners must carry proper documents at all times, so for most visitors the passport comes with you rather than staying in the hotel safe.
• Keep it in a zipped pocket or closed bag, and keep your eyes on your bag (Tokyo police advice).
• Save a photo of your passport's photo page in cloud storage and keep a printed copy apart from the passport.

General information — check official sources for your situation.