Right Now, the Japanese Embassy in Kyiv Does Not Handle Passports

As of September 2026, the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine, in Kyiv, is not issuing or renewing passports, and is not issuing any type of certificate. The visa applications it accepts are limited to short-term business and family visits. This is what the embassy’s top page states (confirmed 23 September 2026).

The Embassy of Ukraine in Japan, in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo, on the other hand, accepts passport and other procedures for Ukrainian nationals living in Japan, by reservation. Though both are called “embassies,” what each can currently do differs by country, and has changed over the course of the war. This article organizes what each embassy’s counter can and cannot do, based on what is stated on each one’s official page.

On 2 March 2022, the Japanese Embassy in Kyiv temporarily closed

The Embassy of Japan in Ukraine opened in January 1993, and the Embassy of Ukraine in Tokyo in September 1994 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Ukraine Basic Data”). The restrictions on services covered in this article began after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Based on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press releases, here is a timeline of the Japanese Embassy in Kyiv’s movements.

The announcement of 2 March 2022 explained the reason for the closure as “the expansion of Russia’s invasion and the extremely rapid tension of the situation in the capital, Kiev” (“Kiev” here reflects the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spelling at the time). When the embassy reopened in October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also described the reopening as being with a “minimum staff.”

The embassy’s page carries an arrival greeting from Ambassador Osumi Yo, dated 4 September 2026.

What you can do at the Japanese Embassy in Kyiv right now

The Embassy of Japan in Ukraine’s “Consular / Safety” page explains its consular services as follows.

The Ukrainian-language visa page goes into a bit more detail, stating that from 1 August 2024, visa issuance for Ukrainian nationals resumed, limited to three types: a short-term business visa, a short-term visit visa limited to visiting family, and a visa for official visits. For family-visit applications, it asks for documents showing the family relationship, along with an English translation.

For Ukrainian nationals outside Ukraine, guidance dated 21 April 2022 states that they can apply for any type of visa at the Japanese embassy in the country where they are staying. It adds that they can apply even without a long-term residence permit in that country, that documents cannot be submitted online, and that they should contact the embassy before visiting.

The contact point the embassy gives is its consular email (ryouji@kv.mofa.go.jp). The embassy’s “About the Embassy” page also notes that, due to the volume of inquiries, phone lines can be difficult to reach.

Travel from Japan is at “Level 4: Evacuation Advisory”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued travel advisory “Level 4: Evacuate. Travel is advised against. (Evacuation Advisory)” for the whole of Ukraine. Level 4 is the highest of the Ministry’s four-tier system of travel advisory levels. The advisory current as of 23 September 2026 is dated 19 January 2026, and states that Russian ground operations and missile and drone attacks are continuing, and further damage is expected.

The same travel advisory describes one exceptional procedure. If, as part of the work of a company or organization contributing to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, and for truly unavoidable reasons, you believe you need to travel to the city of Kyiv and its surroundings or to Lviv oblast, you are asked to consult a Ministry of Foreign Affairs contact point at least two weeks before travel. The travel plan submitted at that time comes with conditions such as the following.

• The travel period is kept to the necessary minimum, in principle within 2 weeks
• Travel between a neighboring country and Kyiv, and between Kyiv and Lviv, is by rail (a vehicle may also be used between Poland and Lviv oblast)
• Secure safe accommodation equipped with a shelter
• Have a guard from a trusted security company accompany you for travel by vehicle or on foot
• Always follow any advisory to cancel travel or evacuate, issued in response to a change in the security situation

This procedure assumes that the company or organization you belong to takes safety measures as an organization; it is not intended for personal travel. The travel advisory also states that a curfew is in effect in the city of Kyiv from midnight to 5:00 a.m. the following morning (per the entry dated 19 January 2026).

Japanese nationals who unavoidably stay in Ukraine for 3 months or more are required, under Article 16 of the Passport Act, to submit a “notification of residence abroad” to the local consular officer.

What you can do at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo

The consular counter of the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan (Nishi-Azabu, Minato Ward, Tokyo) accepts only people who have booked online (e-consul). The embassy’s page asks you to make a separate reservation for each procedure and to check the required documents on that page before booking. Phone consultation is limited to set hours, and email (consul_jp@mfa.gov.ua) is also accepted.

The procedures listed on the “Consular Issues” page are mainly the following.

• Applying for and receiving a foreign-travel passport (закордонний паспорт), and a domestic passport (ID card)
• An identity document for returning to Ukraine (commonly called the “white passport”), issued in cases such as a lost or stolen passport, or an expired one
• Powers of attorney, and certificates of being alive
• Consular registration (registering that you live in Japan)
• Marriage in Japan, civil status registration (Реєстрація актів цивільного стану), and document authentication
• Procedures related to citizenship
• Issuance of a taxpayer number (РНОКПП)
• Voting from abroad

Per the page on the identity document for returning to Ukraine, this document proves your identity, confirms your Ukrainian nationality, and grants the right to enter Ukraine; it is issued by a diplomatic mission abroad. In cases of loss or theft, a document showing that you reported it to the authorities in the country where you are staying is required.

An honorary consulate is also located in Kobe. Per the embassy’s page, its jurisdiction is Hyogo Prefecture, and it accepts visitors by reservation.

There is a condition for men aged 18 to 60

The embassy’s consular counter page states one condition for men aged 18 to 60 to receive consular services: holding an electronic military-registration document with a QR code, created through the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s app “Резерв+” (Reserve+). Moreover, that document must have been created no earlier than 72 hours before your visit.

In a notice dated 21 May 2024, the embassy announced that it had resumed accepting applications for consular services from men in this age group. What kind of suspension existed before that, and the content of the Ukrainian government decision behind it, cannot be confirmed from the embassy’s pages. This article does not cover the military registration and mobilization system itself. Check with the embassy about the documents you need before booking.

What neither embassy handles

The Embassy of Ukraine in Japan lists the following as “matters outside the embassy’s authority”:

• Visas or guarantee documents for Ukrainian nationals to enter Japan
• Help finding a job in Japan
• The role of a lawyer, legal advice, a travel agency, or an interpreter, or lending money or paying costs such as hotel bills
• Certifying the date you left Ukraine’s border (handled by the State Border Guard Service)

Procedures for status of residence or daily life in Japan are handled neither by the embassy nor by the other; the counters for these are Japan’s Immigration Services Agency and municipal offices. Where to turn for help is covered in where to ask first when you start living in Japan, and the number of Ukrainians who have come to Japan is covered in the number of Ukrainians who have evacuated to Japan.

What each embassy’s counters handle has changed many times along with the situation. Always check each embassy’s latest page before proceeding with any procedure.