Entry restricted

Entry to Japan for citizens of North Korea

Entry to Japan is currently restricted for citizens of North Korea. Rules can change, so check with the destination’s embassy before you travel.

For citizens of North Korea: the passport opens 8 countries visa-free; Pyongyang — Tokyo: ≈ 1,290 km, about 2 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

Entry restricted

Can I travel to Japan without a visa on a North Korea passport?

Entry to Japan is currently restricted for citizens of North Korea. Check the rules with the embassy before you travel.

With a North Korea passport you can visit 8 countries visa-free, 26 with a visa on arrival and 55 with an e-visa; 107 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the North Korea passport ranks 196th of 199.
North Korea passport: visa-free access to 8 countries; Japan passport: 114.
Citizens of North Korea and Japan can travel together visa-free to 8 countries, for example: Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Palestine, Seychelles, Haiti, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Guyana.
Citizens of Japan, in turn, need an embassy visa to travel to North Korea. North Korea visa for citizens of Japan

Pyongyang — Tokyo: about 1,290 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 2 hours.
No time difference with your country’s capital.
Local currency: Japanese Yen.
Languages: Japanese.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ ¥158.