From 1st July 2013, the Government of Japan has decided to abolish the requirement of short-term visa for Malaysian Nationals who hold ordinary biometric passports with embedded microchip that is compliant with ICAO standards (issued since February 2010) who wish to enter Japan for short-term stay.

However, this visa exemption only apply to Malaysian Nationals holding ordinary biometric passport with embedded microchip that is compliant with ICAO standards. Malaysian Nationals who do not hold ordinary biometric passport with embedded microchip that is compliant with ICAO standards remain advised to obtain a visa to enter into Japan.

The visa exemption arrangement between Japan and Malaysia, which had been existed since before 1993, provides that Malaysian nationals who meet the relevant conditions could enter Japan without obtaining a visa for a period of not exceeding three consecutive months (short-term stay). However, in 1993, the Government of Japan after taking into consideration the situation at the time and in consultation with the Government of Malaysia, began to advise Malaysian nationals to obtain a visa in advance to enter Japan.

For checking method of passport is compliant with ICAO standards or not: