Why does the hotel photocopy my passport?
Short answer
Because it is required to. If you have no address in Japan, the accommodation must record your name, nationality and passport number and keep a copy of the passport with its guest register — and the official guidance tells staff to contact the police if you refuse and may not be carrying one.
What the rule actually asks for
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare states it plainly. For foreign nationals without an address in Japan, lodgings record "nationalities and passport numbers in addition to their names, addresses and contact information", and "the presentation and photocopying of passports is also required by the Government of Japan."
The trigger is the address, not the nationality. A foreign resident of Japan gives the same details as anyone else living here; the passport copy applies to guests with no Japanese address, which is every ordinary visitor on a tourist stay.
What happens if you decline
The Japan Tourism Agency's guidance for operators sets out the escalation. Where a guest without a Japanese address refuses to present a passport, the operator is to "explain that the measures are based on national government regulations". If the guest still refuses and there is the possibility that they are not carrying a passport, the guidance is to "take the appropriate action such as contacting the nearest police station".
So this is not a front desk preference to be negotiated away. The practical consequence is that the passport travels to check-in with you — a photograph on a phone is not the document, and leaving it in a station locker turns a two-minute formality into an afternoon.
The same rule follows you to a private rental
It is easy to assume this belongs to hotels. It does not. The same guidance is written for private lodging operators, who must "accurately record the name, nationality and passport number" for foreign guests without an address in Japan and "save copies of each passport together with the guest list".
One more thing worth knowing about that file: it is inspectable. Operators are told to cooperate when a police officer asks to see the guest list in the course of their duties, with or without a written inquiry. The copy is not being kept for the hotel's convenience.
Good to know
- It turns on having no address in Japan — that is every ordinary visitor
- Name, nationality and passport number go in the register; a copy is filed with it
- Refuse, and the guidance tells staff to contact the nearest police station
- A photo on your phone is not the document — carry the passport to check-in
- The same rule applies at a private rental, not only at a hotel
