Originally Posted by
Steve M
My understanding of it has always been that Transit Visas were only issued in situations where the person could not get a Temporary Visitor visa upon arrival because of their nationality. For example, if you enter Japan on a US passport, you ordinarily get a 90-day Temporary Visitor status just for showing up, so that's what you get, even if you tell the immigration officer clearly that your intent is for transit only.
But, if you're a citizen of a country where Temporary Visitor status requires a visa in advance and you don't have one, then the officer has the discretion of granting you a Transit visa.
As I mentioned, legally there is no transit visa just like there is no tourist visa, both fall under the Temporary Visitor status. So someone visiting Japan for the purpose of tourism, transit, short term study, and a whole list of other reasons will usually get "Temporary Visitor" stamped into their passport.
So an American who is only in transit through Japan will still get a Temporary Visitor status because the US & Japan have Visa-waiver agreements.
Those wishing to transit in Japan (leaving the international port to go to another international port or to layover outside the airside of the airport) from countries that do not have visa-waiver agreements with Japan are supposed to apply for a "Temporary Visitors" permit before they arrive in Japan. When applying for the Temporary Visitors Visa, they have to state what the purpose of the trip is, and they can say: tourism, transit, short-term study etc etc.
Their chances are much higher of getting admitted into Japan if they get the Temporary Visitor's Visa before they arrive.
*No visa is required for those who are staying in the airport for a connecting flight. Just go through a security check, but not immigration or customs.
If someone did not have a temporary visitors visa before they enter Japan (from a non visa waiver country) and they wanted to layover for a bit in the vicinity of the airport, then the immigration inspector has the discretion to give out a "Shore Pass", which is valid usually for 72hours. The drawback of this route is that it is all up to the discretion of the immigration officer.