Passport comparison · updated 17 June 2026

Japan vs South Korea Passport

Q: Which passport is stronger: Japan vs South Korea?

They are level: Japan and South Korea each open 116 countries visa-free.

Q: How many countries can all of them visit visa-free?

113 destinations are visa-free for every passport in this comparison, including Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria and Bahamas.

Q: Where can Japan citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

3 destinations: Bolivia, Iran and South Korea.

Q: Where can South Korea citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

3 destinations: Gambia, Japan and Russia.

It's a tie

Japan and South Korea each open 116 countries visa-free.

Japan

#34

116visa-free

Unlimited stay: 2
Visa on arrival: 39
eTA: 10
eVisa: 18
Visa required: 15
Only this passport: 3

All visa-free countries →

South Korea

#34

116visa-free

Unlimited stay: 2
Visa on arrival: 41
eTA: 10
eVisa: 17
Visa required: 14
Only this passport: 3

All visa-free countries →

Side by side

Visa-free

Japan · 116

South Korea · 116

Visa-free + on arrival + eTA

Japan · 165

South Korea · 167

Visa on arrival

Japan · 39

South Korea · 41

eTA

Japan · 10

South Korea · 10

eVisa

Japan · 18

South Korea · 17

Visa required

Japan · 15

South Korea · 14

Where each passport travels visa-free

Visa-free for both (113)
Only Japan (3)
Only South Korea (3)
Visa needed for both (80)

Only Japan visa-free (3)

Bolivia, Iran and South Korea

Only South Korea visa-free (3)

Gambia, Japan and Russia

Country-by-country comparison

Destination	Japan	South Korea
Afghanistan	Visa required	Visa required
Albania	90 days	90 days
Algeria	Visa required	Visa required
Andorra	90 days	90 days
Angola	30 days	30 days
Antigua and Barbuda	180 days	180 days
Argentina	90 days	90 days
Armenia	180 days	180 days
Australia	eTA	eTA
Austria	90 days	90 days
Azerbaijan	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Bahamas	90 days	90 days
Bahrain	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Barbados	90 days	90 days
Belarus	30 days	30 days
Belgium	90 days	90 days
Belize	90 days	90 days
Benin	eVisa	eVisa
Bhutan	eVisa	eVisa
Bolivia	90 days	Visa on arrival
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days	90 days
Botswana	90 days	90 days
Brazil	90 days	90 days
Brunei	90 days	30 days
Bulgaria	90 days	90 days
Burkina Faso	eVisa	eVisa
Burundi	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cambodia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cameroon	eVisa	eVisa
Canada	eTA	eTA
Cape Verde	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Central African Republic	Visa required	Visa required
Chad	Visa required	Visa required
Chile	90 days	90 days
China	30 days	30 days
Colombia	90 days	90 days
Comoros	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Costa Rica	180 days	180 days
Côte d'Ivoire	eTA	eTA
Croatia	90 days	90 days
Cuba	eVisa	eVisa
Cyprus	90 days	90 days
Czechia	90 days	90 days
Denmark	90 days	90 days
Djibouti	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Dominica	180 days	180 days
Dominican Republic	Unlimited	Unlimited
DR Congo	eVisa	eVisa
Ecuador	90 days	90 days
Egypt	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
El Salvador	180 days	180 days
Equatorial Guinea	eVisa	eVisa
Eritrea	Visa required	Visa required
Estonia	90 days	90 days
Eswatini	30 days	30 days
Ethiopia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Fiji	120 days	120 days
Finland	90 days	90 days
France	90 days	90 days
Gabon	eVisa	eVisa
Gambia	Visa required	90 days
Georgia	360 days	360 days
Germany	90 days	90 days
Ghana	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Greece	90 days	90 days
Grenada	90 days	90 days
Guatemala	90 days	90 days
Guinea	eVisa	eVisa
Guinea-Bissau	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Guyana	90 days	30 days
Haiti	90 days	90 days
Honduras	90 days	90 days
Hong Kong	90 days	90 days
Hungary	90 days	90 days
Iceland	90 days	90 days
India	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Indonesia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Iran	15 days	Visa on arrival
Iraq	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Ireland	90 days	90 days
Israel	90 days	90 days
Italy	90 days	90 days
Jamaica	30 days	90 days
Japan	Own country	90 days
Jordan	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Kazakhstan	30 days	30 days
Kenya	eTA	eTA
Kiribati	90 days	90 days
Kosovo	90 days	90 days
Kuwait	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Kyrgyzstan	60 days	60 days
Laos	15 days	30 days
Latvia	90 days	90 days
Lebanon	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Lesotho	90 days	14 days
Liberia	Visa required	Visa required
Libya	eVisa	eVisa
Liechtenstein	90 days	90 days
Lithuania	90 days	90 days
Luxembourg	90 days	90 days
Macau	90 days	90 days
Madagascar	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Malawi	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Malaysia	90 days	90 days
Maldives	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mali	Visa required	Visa required
Malta	90 days	90 days
Marshall Islands	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mauritania	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mauritius	90 days	90 days
Mexico	180 days	180 days
Micronesia	30 days	30 days
Moldova	90 days	90 days
Monaco	90 days	90 days
Mongolia	30 days	90 days
Montenegro	90 days	90 days
Morocco	90 days	90 days
Mozambique	30 days	30 days
Myanmar	eVisa	eVisa
Namibia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Nauru	Visa required	Visa required
Nepal	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Netherlands	90 days	90 days
New Zealand	eTA	eTA
Nicaragua	90 days	90 days
Niger	Visa required	Visa required
Nigeria	eVisa	eVisa
North Korea	Visa required	Visa required
North Macedonia	90 days	90 days
Norway	90 days	90 days
Oman	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Pakistan	eTA	eTA
Palau	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Palestine	Unlimited	Unlimited
Panama	90 days	90 days
Papua New Guinea	eTA	eTA
Paraguay	90 days	30 days
Peru	180 days	180 days
Philippines	30 days	30 days
Poland	90 days	90 days
Portugal	90 days	90 days
Qatar	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	Visa required
Romania	90 days	90 days
Russia	eVisa	60 days
Rwanda	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Saint Kitts and Nevis	90 days	90 days
Saint Lucia	42 days	42 days
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	90 days	90 days
Samoa	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
San Marino	90 days	90 days
Sao Tome and Principe	15 days	15 days
Saudi Arabia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Senegal	90 days	90 days
Serbia	90 days	90 days
Seychelles	90 days	90 days
Sierra Leone	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Singapore	30 days	90 days
Slovakia	90 days	90 days
Slovenia	90 days	90 days
Solomon Islands	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Somalia	eVisa	eVisa
South Africa	90 days	30 days
South Korea	90 days	Own country
South Sudan	eVisa	eVisa
Spain	90 days	90 days
Sri Lanka	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Sudan	Visa required	Visa required
Suriname	eTA	eTA
Sweden	90 days	90 days
Switzerland	90 days	90 days
Syria	eVisa	eVisa
Taiwan	90 days	90 days
Tajikistan	30 days	30 days
Tanzania	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Thailand	60 days	60 days
Timor-Leste	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Togo	eVisa	eVisa
Tonga	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Trinidad and Tobago	90 days	90 days
Tunisia	90 days	90 days
Türkiye	90 days	90 days
Turkmenistan	Visa required	Visa required
Tuvalu	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Uganda	eVisa	eVisa
Ukraine	90 days	90 days
United Arab Emirates	30 days	90 days
United Kingdom	eTA	eTA
United States	eTA	eTA
Uruguay	90 days	90 days
Uzbekistan	30 days	30 days
Vanuatu	120 days	120 days
Vatican City	90 days	90 days
Venezuela	90 days	90 days
Vietnam	45 days	45 days
Yemen	Visa required	Visa required
Zambia	90 days	90 days
Zimbabwe	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival

Japan vs South Korea passport: which is stronger in 2026?

The Japan passport opens 116 destinations visa-free (#34 of 199), while the South Korea passport opens 116 destinations visa-free (#34 of 199). That makes them equally strong on the headline measure, so the details below — visa on arrival, eTAs and where each one travels alone — decide which is more useful for your trips.

If you also count destinations with a visa on arrival or an eTA, the totals become Japan 165 vs South Korea 167. A traditional visa from an embassy is still required by Japan citizens for 15 countries and by South Korea citizens for 14 countries, and an online eVisa by 18 (Japan) and 17 (South Korea).

Where both passports travel visa-free

Both passports are visa-free in 113 destinations, among them popular trips such as China, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Singapore and 9 more. Neither passport gets visa-free entry to United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Egypt and 4 more — plan an eVisa, eTA or embassy visa for those. 80 destinations require some kind of visa for every passport in this comparison.

Where only one of the passports is visa-free

Only Japan citizens can travel visa-free to 2 destinations: Bolivia and Iran.

Only South Korea citizens can travel visa-free to 2 destinations: Gambia and Russia.

Visa-free access by continent

How the Japan vs South Korea passports compare region by region (visa-free destinations per continent):

Africa (54 countries): Japan 13, South Korea 14
Americas (35 countries): Japan 31, South Korea 30
Asia (47 countries): Japan 22, South Korea 21
Europe (49 countries): Japan 46, South Korea 47
Oceania (14 countries): Japan 4, South Korea 4

Holding both passports (dual citizenship)

A traveller with both passports can always use the stronger one for each trip. Combined, they open 119 destinations without a visa — 3 more than the Japan passport alone. Remember to enter and leave a country on the same passport, and check whether Japan and South Korea allow dual citizenship before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Which passport is stronger: Japan vs South Korea?

They are level: Japan and South Korea each open 116 countries visa-free.

How many countries can all of them visit visa-free?

113 destinations are visa-free for every passport in this comparison, including Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria and Bahamas.

Where can Japan citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

3 destinations: Bolivia, Iran and South Korea.

Where can South Korea citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

3 destinations: Gambia, Japan and Russia.

Data: Passport Index dataset with official corrections (MIT) · updated 17 June 2026.

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