Japanese passport photo rules
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets one standard for passport photos, which the prefectural passport offices and Japanese embassies publish. The photo must be 45 mm high and 35 mm wide, borderless, and taken within six months of the application. The face, measured from the top of the head to the chin, must be between 32 mm and 36 mm, and there must be a margin of 2 to 6 mm above the head. The tool’s blue line places the crown about 4 mm from the top, in the middle of that range.
You must face the camera directly without a hat, and the background must be plain, with no pattern and no shadows – including your own shadow behind you. Tinted glasses are not allowed; clear glasses are fine as long as the frames don’t cross your eyes and there is no glare on the lenses. Hair must not fall over the eyes.
The photo is transferred directly onto the passport’s data page, so a blurred or poorly lit photo produces a poor passport image. The passport office can refuse a photo that does not meet the standard, which means coming back with a new one.
Applying online
Passports can be renewed online. If you upload a photo yourself, an application made within Japan accepts a JPG of up to 600 KB, while an application from abroad accepts JPG, PNG or BMP files between 20 KB and 2 MB. The digital photo from this tool is a 1050 × 1350 pixel JPG kept under 600 KB, so it meets both limits.
Applying on paper
A paper application at a prefectural passport office or a Japanese embassy or consulate needs one printed photo. Print the 4 × 6 inch sheet at a photo shop or convenience-store printer as a standard print at 100%, without fitting or borders, and cut a photo out along the grey lines. Check the size with a ruler before you go: 45 mm high and 35 mm wide.
Visa photos for Japan
This page is for Japanese passports. Photo rules for visas to Japan are set by each Japanese embassy and vary from country to country, so check with the embassy where you apply.