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Lost Your Passport in Japan? What to Do First

Lost or had your passport stolen in Japan? File the right report, contact your own embassy or consulate and protect your departure plan.

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10-second answer

What to do right now

Retrace the last place and secure any other ID first. File a lost-property report with Japanese police, then contact your own embassy or consulate for its current replacement or emergency travel-document procedure. A police report does not replace a passport.

  1. 1Check the last place and report it to police
  2. 2Contact your own embassy or consulate
  3. 3Protect the rest of the trip
Show the Japanese phraseOpen official help
What to do first after losing your passport in Japan: check the last place, report it to police, and contact your embassy or consulate.
First actions only. A police report does not replace a passport; your embassy or consulate, airline and route requirements determine what happens next.
First step after losing a passport in Japan: contact the hotel, station, taxi company, shop or airport, then file a lost-property report with police and keep the report details. Illustration with generic passports and an example report.
Detailed steps. Follow these steps. Step 1: Check the last place and report it to police. Contact the hotel, station, taxi, shop or airport area where the passport may have been left. Then file a lost-property report at a police box or station and keep the report details.
Contact your embassy or consulate after losing a passport in Japan: use its official website and confirm jurisdiction, appointment rules, required documents, photos, fees and timing
Step 2: Contact your own embassy or consulate. Use the official mission website for your nationality. Confirm jurisdiction, appointment rules, documents, photos, fees and timing before traveling there.
Protect the rest of your trip after losing a passport in Japan: contact the airline, insurer and accommodation, and confirm the issued travel document and boarding requirements
Step 3: Protect the rest of the trip. Tell the airline, insurer and accommodation when relevant. Do not assume a copy or police report is enough to board an international flight; confirm the issued document and airline requirements.
Japanese phrase for reporting a lost passport at a police box: I lost my passport and would like to file a lost-property report
Useful Japanese phrase. I lost my passport. I would like to file a lost-property report. パスポートをなくしました。遺失届を出したいです。 Pasupōto o nakushimashita. Ishitsutodoke o dashitai desu.
Departure soon after losing a passport in Japan: contact your airline, insurer and accommodation, obtain an issued travel document, and confirm boarding and transit requirements

Departure soon? Contact your own embassy or consulate today. A police report, passport photograph or digital copy is useful supporting information, but none is itself a valid replacement passport. The mission decides what document it can issue; your airline and route may have separate boarding or transit requirements.

A practical order for the first day

  1. Check where it was last handled. Ask the hotel desk, train or airport operator, taxi company or shop. If it was left on an aircraft, contact the airline; an item lost in the terminal may have a different office. Keep the time, location and case reference. The general lost-item guide has operator-specific contacts.
  2. Report the loss to police. Go to a kōban (police box) or station and describe the passport, the last known place and time, and any identifying details. Ask for the report or reference information and how to follow up. The National Police Agency explains that a lost-property report records your claim; it does not prove the loss or issue a travel document.
  3. Contact your nationality’s embassy or consulate. Use the official mission website and ask which office handles passport services, whether an appointment is needed, what documents it requires, the fee and the earliest issuance date. An honorary consulate may not issue travel documents. Do not travel across Japan to an office based only on a directory listing.
  4. Recheck the departure and any connection. Tell your airline the exact replacement or emergency document the mission proposes to issue. Ask about check-in, transit countries and destination entry rules before paying to change flights. Contact your insurer about eligible replacement or delay costs and your accommodation if your checkout must change.
Information to prepare before calling an embassy or consulate after losing a passport: identity details, police report, travel documents, contact information, visa and onward-travel details

What to have ready when you call the mission

  • Your nationality and full name as shown on the lost passport, date of birth and any passport number or scan you have.
  • The police report details, last known location and whether theft is suspected.
  • Another identity document, available passport photos, flight itinerary and local contact information.
  • Any visa, residence or onward-travel details that might affect your route.

These are preparation prompts, not a universal application checklist. The mission can ask for different evidence, forms, photos, fees or appointments. Keep sensitive passport scans in a secure account and share them only through a verified official channel. If your phone disappeared with the passport, follow the phone-lock and account-protection steps as well.

Answers to four common questions after losing a passport in Japan: boarding documents, a closed embassy, finding the old passport and when to call police at 110

Common questions at the point of loss

Can I board with a police report or a passport photo?

Do not count on it. A report and copy can help the issuing mission identify you, but the airline and border authorities need an acceptable travel document. Ask the mission and operating airline about your exact route.

What if the embassy is closed or I fly tomorrow?

Check its official emergency contact and ask what is possible outside office hours. An emergency document is not guaranteed immediately. Tell your airline before the check-in deadline and ask about change options; do not assume a booking will be held.

What if the old passport turns up later?

Tell the issuing mission and police before using it. Once reported lost or replaced, its validity may have changed. Do not decide on your own to travel with it.

Is 110 the right number?

Use 110 for an immediate crime or danger. For an ordinary missing passport, ask staff and visit a police box or station to file the report. If another item is missing too, use the lost-property guide for its operator.

National Police Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan resources checked September 19, 2026. Embassy issuance, airline and transit decisions are nationality- and itinerary-specific.

Official links for a lost passport in Japan: file a lost-property report with police, find your embassy or consulate, and contact the JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline
National Police Agency: File a lost-property report. Use the police guide to prepare the last known place, time and passport details. A report records the claim; it is not a replacement travel document. Read the police procedure Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: Find foreign missions in Japan. Locate your own country’s embassy or consulate, then open its official website or call it for the actual passport or emergency-document procedure. Find your mission Official visitor assistance: Japan Visitor Hotline. JNTO offers 24-hour English, Chinese and Korean visitor assistance when you need help finding the right local contact. The hotline cannot issue a passport. See hotline details
Useful links

Official resources come first. Links open in a new tab.

Related Japan travel help guides for lost luggage, pre-trip preparation and showable Japanese phrase cards
Lost items in Japan — Read the guide Japan pre-trip checklist — Read the guide Showable Japanese phrase cards — Read the guide
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